Pondexter Selected to Play in WNBA All-Star Game
Jul 08 | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK, NY - Former Rutgers women's basketball standout
and
current Phoenix Mercury rookie Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) has
been
chosen as one of six Western Conference reserves for the 2006 WNBA
All-Star
Game Wednesday, July 12, at 7:00 p.m. The game, which will be
conducted at
New York's Madison Square Garden, and will be shown on
ESPN.
Fans interested in attending the All-Star Game may purchase tickets
via
www.ticketmaster.com, 877-WNBA-TIX or the Madison Square Garden Box
Office.
Pondexter is making a strong case for WNBA Rookie of the Year
honors.
Through the games of July 6, she led the league in scoring (22.7
ppg) and
was fifth in total efficiency points (18.9 pg) and seventh in
three-point
field-goal percentage (.430). The 5-9 guard is adding 3.7
rebounds, 2.5
assists and 1.2 steals per contest, shooting 46.2 (123-266)
percent from the
field and 84.7 (83-98) percent from the free-throw
line.
For the games of June 5-12, the Phoenix Mercury guard 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).
Most recently, Pondexter established a new rookie scoring
record when she
poured in 35 points in a 91-76 victory at Detroit July 6.
Phoenix plays at
Connecticut July 8 (3:00 p.m., ESPN2) and at New York July 9
(4:00 p.m., NBA
TV and MSG TV) prior to the All-Star break.
Pondexter
will be 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.
Joining Pondexter as a reserve for the Western Conference will be
her
Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi, as well as Lisa Leslie (Los
Angeles),
Seimone Augustus (Minnesota), Tina Thompson (Houston) and Sophia
Young (San
Antonio). Sue Bird (Seattle), Yolanda Griffith (Sacramento),
Lauren Jackson
(Seattle), Dawn Staley (Houston) and Sheryl Swoopes (Houston)
were selected
by the fans as the starters.
For the Eastern Conference,
Tamika Catchings (Indiana), Margo Dydek
(Connecticut), Becky Hammon (New
York), Nykesha Sales (Connecticut) and
Lindsay Whalen (Connecticut) will
serve as the starters. Deana Nolan
(Detroit), Katie Douglas (Connecticut),
Cheryl Ford (Detorit), Katie Smith
(Detroit), Tamika Whitmore (Indiana) and
Alana Beard (Washington) were
announced as the team's
reserves.
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.
