Pondexter Shines in WNBA All-Star Game
Jul 12 | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK, NY - Former Rutgers women's basketball standout and current
Phoenix Mercury rookie Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) tied for the team high
in assists, playing in her first WNBA All-Star Game July 12 at Madison
Square Garden.
A reserve for the Western Conference, Pondexter dished four assists in 15:40
of action, adding four points, a pair of rebounds and a steal. The East,
which had never won an All-Star Game, pulled away for a 98-82 victory.
Pondexter is making a strong case for WNBA Rookie of the Year honors. She is
third in the league in scoring (21.9 ppg) and is sixth in total efficiency
points (18.0 pg). The 5-9 guard is adding 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1
steals per contest, shooting 45.2 (135-299) percent from the field, 40.0
(34-85) percent from three-point range and 85.8 (91-106) percent from the
free-throw line.
For the games of June 5-12, Pondexter posted a league-high 28.5 points per
contest, shooting 60.5 (23-38) percent from the floor and 72.7 (8-111)
percent from the free-throw line, to earn the distinction of being the WNBA
Player of the Week. On June 2, she registered 30 points in a 97-87 loss at
Seattle, and on June 6, she posted 30 points in a 90-76 victory against
Sacramento, becoming the third player in league history to register
back-to-back 30-point totals (Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes). Pondexter
established a new rookie scoring record when she poured in 35 points in a
91-76 victory at Detroit July 6.
Pondexter was the third former Scarlet Knight to play in the WNBA All-Star
Game. Former New York Liberty fan favorite Sue Wicks ('88) participated in
2000, while current Charlotte Sting center Tammy Sutton-Brown ('01) played
in 2002.
Pondexter was the second overall selection of the 2006 WNBA Draft by the
Phoenix Mercury. A finalist for the State Farm Wade Trophy, the Naismith
Award, the Women's Wooden Award, the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award, the
Honda Sports Award for Basketball and the Nancy Lieberman Award (nation's
top point guard), the 5-9 guard was picked as the Women's Basketball News
Service National Player of the Year. Pondexter was named to the
Kodak/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America First Team,
the Associated Press All-America First Team, the ESPN.com All-America First
Team, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America Team, the
WBNS All-America First Team, the Women's Wooden Award All-America Team, the
Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team, the Full Court Press All-America
First Team and the Gballmag.com All-America First Team, and was the
unanimous selection as the BIG EAST Player of the Year, becoming the first
player in league history to be named to the All-BIG EAST First Team four
times during her career. Picked as the WBCA National Player of the Month
for January, she started all 32 games for the Scarlet Knights during the
2005-2006 season, averaging 21.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7
steals per game. Named to the NCAA Tournament All-Cleveland Region Team,
Pondexter scored her 2,000th career point at West Virginia Feb. 10 and
competed with the USA Basketball Senior National Team at the Opals World
Challenge in Australia April 8-12. Pondexter played in 121 career games,
making 103 starts, and averaged 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and
1.8 steals per game. She finished her time 'On the Banks' first in
three-point field-goal percentage (164-385, .426), second in scoring
(2,211), free throws made (427), field goals made (810) and field goals
attempted (1,768), third in scoring average (18.3 ppg), three-point field
goals made (164) and free throws attempted (539), fourth in three-point
field goals attempted (385), fifth in assists (470), tied for sixth in
free-throw percentage (427-539, .792) and tied for seventh in steals (213)
on the RU career charts.
