University of Houston Athletics
Jones Named 2003 C-USA Player Of The Year
3/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 5, 2003
MEMPHIS - The University of Houston's Chandi Jones was named the 2003 Conference USA Player of the Year as announced by the league tonight. A ceremony was held at the Convention Center in Memphis, Tenn., site of the 2003 Conference USA Tournament.
Jones (5-10, G/F) became only the second player in C-USA history to be recognized as Player of the Year in consecutive seasons, joining Memphis' Tamika Whitmore, who earned Player of the Year honors in 1998 and 1999. The All-American guard from Bay City, Texas, leads the nation in scoring with 27.5 points per game and ranks 14th in steals (3.37 pg).
She is currently only 20 points away from becoming Houston's all-time female scoring leader and ranks fifth on C-USA's all-time scoring list with 1,938 points. She is also only 62 points away from moving into the top 3 of the nation's fastest to reach the 2,000 point plateau. She closed out the regular season notching a league-high 14 30-plus point performances and 12 double-doubles.
Joining Jones on the first team are a trio of Cincinnati players, senior K.B. Sharp, junior Valerie King and sophomore Debbie Merrill, as well as Louisville senior point guard Sara Nord.
Six of the 16 players that earned all-conference recognition were seniors. A total of five honorees were underclassmen. Cincinnati had the most overall selections with three, while Charlotte, DePaul, Louisville, TCU and Tulane each had two.
Conference USA award winners were selected by a panel including the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media representatives.
Houston will kick off the first round of the 2003 C-USA Tournament Thursday as it faces Southern Miss at 1 p.m. at the Pyramid.
2003 CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
All-Conference
First Team
Chandi Jones, Houston F Jr. Bay City, Texas
Valerie King, Cincinnati G Jr. Washington Courthouse, Ohio
Sara Nord, Louisville G Jr. Jeffersonville, Ind.
K.B. Sharp, Cincinnati G Sr. Columbus, Ohio
Debbie Merrill, Cincinnati C So. Comberland City, Tenn.
Second Team
Jenni Dant, DePaul G So. Lincolnshire, Ill.
Peaches Harris, Charlotte G Jr. St. Louis, Mo.
Sandora Irvin, TCU F So. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Teana McKiver, Tulane C Sr. Beulaville, La.
Gwen Slaughter, Tulane F Sr. Mamou, La.
Third Team
Alicia Abernathy, Charlotte F Jr. Hickory, N.C.
Shannon Hamp, Memphis C Sr. Monroe, La.
Jennifer Jackson, East Carolina G So. Farmville, Va.
Lori Nero, Louisville C Sr. Baton Rouge, La.
Khara Smith, DePaul F Fr. Hillside, Ill.
Natasha Thomas, UAB F Jr. Moulton, Ala.
All-Freshman Team
Khara Smith, DePaul F Fr. Hillside, Ill.
Pam Brown, Charlotte C Fr. Coppell, Texas
Sakellie Daniels, Charlotte G Fr. Raeford, N.C.
Carolyn Kieger, Marquette G Fr. Roseville, Minn.
Andrea Davidson, Charlotte G Fr. Gainesboro, Tenn.
Coach of the Year
Katie Meier, Charlotte
Player of the Year
Chandi Jones, F, Houston
Freshman of the Year
Khara Smith, F, DePaul
Defensive Player of the Year
Sandora Irvin, F, TCU
Sixth Player of the Year
Peaches Harris, G, Charlotte
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