Oct. 18, 2005
Contact: Carlos Valdez III. (210) 458-4930
UTSA Women’s Basketball Team Picked Second In Coaches and Sports Information Directors Southland Conference Polls
PLANO — The University of Texas at San Antonio women's basketball team was selected second in the 2005-06 Southland Conference polls, behind regular season and tournament champions Texas-Arlington. UTSA collected 79 points in the coaches poll and 99 points in the SID poll, while racking up three first-place votes apiece in both polls.
Six of the 10 Southland head coaches that participated in the poll selected UTA as the preseason favorite. The Mavericks collected 83 points and are the defending Southland Conference regular season and SLC Tournament champions. Texas-Arlington concluded last year by making its inaugural appearance in the NCAA Championship. UTA welcomes back two starters from a team that went 21-10 overall and 13-3 in league play. Leading that group will be 5-7 junior guard Terra Wallace. Wallace, a preseason All-SLC pick, earned second team all-conference honors a year ago after averaging 13.8 points and 2.06 three-pointers per game. She also pocketed 2.0 steals per contest.
UTSA finished a close second with 79 points and three first place votes, while Louisiana-Monroe collected 70 points for third place.
UTSA returns Richelle Parks, a 2004-05 All-SLC first teamer and SLC Freshman of the Year. The sophomore averaged 13.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as well as shot a solid 47.3 percent from the field. The 5-10 forward ranked among the top 10 and is the conference’s top returner in each category. She wrapped up her freshman campaign appearing third in field goal percentage, fourth in rebounding and sixth in scoring. The Roadrunners produced an overall record of 16-12 and a 10-6 mark in SLC play a year ago.
Louisiana-Monroe tied UTA as the Southland’s regular season champions with a league record of 13-3. The Lady Indians finished with a 22-8 overall record. ULM boasts three returning starters, including All-SLC third teamer Michelle Biley. Biley averaged 9.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and appears on this year’s Preseason All-SLC first team. The 5-10 senior forward ended the year ranked fourth in the league in field goal percentage, hitting .461 percent of her shots.
McNeese State was chosen fourth with 64 points. The voting for fifth and sixth place was tight as Stephen F. Austin earned the other first-place nod and was picked fifth with 59 points, edging out Northwestern State, which earned 58 points for sixth. SFA finished 12-16 last season, but returns three of five starters, including three-time All-Southland Conference pick LaToya Mills. Texas State, which picked up a first-place vote in the SID Poll, collected 52 points for seventh place.
Nicholls State (eighth), Sam Houston State (ninth), Southeastern Louisiana (10th) and Lamar (11th) round out the coaches poll.
The SID Poll was almost identical to the coaches except for four through six. Stephen F. Austin was chosen fourth, followed by Northwestern in fifth and McNeese sixth. The seven and eighth spots were the same, held by Texas State and Nicholls State. Southeastern Louisiana, Sam Houston State and Lamar were the SID’s final three picks.
2005-06 SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLLS
Head Coaches Poll
School (First-place votes) Points
1. Texas-Arlington (6) 83
2. Texas-San Antonio (3) 79
3. Louisiana-Monroe 70
4. McNeese State 64
5. Stephen F. Austin (1) 59
6. Northwestern State 58
7. Texas State 52
8. Nicholls State 31
9. Sam Houston State 23
10. Southeastern Louisiana 17
11. Lamar 14
(Coaches could not vote for their own teams.)
Sports Information Directors Poll
School (First-place votes) Points
1. Texas-Arlington (5) 101
2. Texas-San Antonio (3) 99
3. Louisiana-Monroe 97
4. Stephen F. Austin (1) 82
5. Northwestern State 78
6. McNeese State 75
7. Texas State (1) 74
8. Nicholls State 40
9. Southeastern Louisiana 29
10. Sam Houston State 28
11. Lamar 23
2005-06 Preseason All-Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Team Announced
PLANO— This year’s race for the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championship is expected to be one of the toughest in recent years due to the talented core of players returning for the 2005-06 campaign. Six of the 10 spots on the league’s preseason all-conference teams are holdovers from last year’s postseason All-Southland Conference teams, making them automatic placements on this year’s teams. The remaining four spots, all second-team picks, were voted on by the league’s head coaches and announced by the conference office Tuesday.
The 2005-06 Preseason All-SLC first team is loaded with talent and experience as four seniors and a junior make up the list. The second team consists of three juniors and two seniors. Eight different Universities are represented by these 10 individuals.
Out of the league’s top 15 scorers from a year ago, seven return. Five of those were among the conference’s elite in rebounding too.
Preseason favorite Texas-Arlington received two all-league selections, as did Northwestern State. Both of Northwestern’s selections were second teamers as voted on by the coaches.
Headlining this talented core is junior guard Terra Wallace of Texas-Arlington. The Mavs also had a second team selection in junior Ashley Bobb. The pair will be looked to for leadership as UTA defends its titles. Both were key members of the 2005 UTA team that made its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Wallace earned all-tournament and MVP accolades after guiding the Mavericks to their first SLC Championship title. The Round Rock, Texas, native shot 64.3 percent from beyond the arc, 50.0 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe. The 2005 All-SLC second team selection also averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game over the three-game tournament span. For the season, Wallace finished third in the league in treys per game (2.1) and ranked seventh in scoring (13.8) and free throw percentage (.744).
Bobb is UTA’s top returning rebounder at 6.8 rpg. A native of Garland, Texas, she appeared on the 2005 All-Southland honorable mention list after averaging 6.8 points and shooting 42.2 percent from the field. The Texas Tech transfer played in all 31 games and started 26 last season.
Texas State’s Tamara Thompson was the Southland’s top 3-point shooter a year ago, hitting a dazzling 42.9 percent. After averaging 13.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and hitting 40.3 percent from the field and 79.0 percent from the free throw line, Thompson was named the 2005 Southland newcomer of the year and voted to the All-SLC second team.
Regina Spivey is McNeese State’s representative on the preseason first team. Spivey earned All-SLC second team honors last year and was a 2004 third-team honoree. The Ruston, La., native is the Southland’s top returner in steals and blocks per game. The 5-11 forward ranked second in the league in thefts, averaging 2.5 steals, and third in blocks with 1.4 per game. Spivey also was McNeese’ top scorer (13.2 ppg) and rebounder (6.1 rpg) in 2005.
For the last three seasons Stephen F. Austin’s LaToya Mills has been acknowledged by the league’s head coaches. The 6-0 senior was voted the Southland freshman of the year and named to the All-SLC third team in 2003. She also earned second team all-conference honors in 2004 and third team merits in 2005. Mills, a native of Houston, Texas, has been the program’s top scorer and rebounder for the last two years and looks to become just the 22nd player in school history to score 1,000 or more points in her career. She missed the final month of the 2004-05 campaign due to an injury but averaged 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in 19 games played.
Louisiana Monroe’s Michelle Biley rounds out the preseason All-SLC first team selections. Biley concluded her junior season as the team’s top rebounder (6.0 rpg) and second best scorer (9.7 ppg). Both figures, as well as Biley’s field goal percentage, ranked among the top 15 in the conference. She shot 46.1 percent from the field, fourth best in the SLC, and was a 2005 All-SLC third team selection.
Appearing first on the preseason All-SLC second team is Lamar’s LaTonya Carson. She was the team’s top scorer (13.2 ppg) and rebounder (5.6 rpg) a year ago. The 5-9, junior, guard appeared on the 2005 All-SLC third team and has been Lamar’s top player since her arrival in 2003. The Long Beach, Miss., native is the only player on the All-SLC preseason team not from the state of Texas or Louisiana.
Earning second team preseason honors via coaches votes were Chassidy Jones and Sheronda Bell of Northwestern State, Bobb of UTA and Lacy Mingee of UTSA.
Jones, a 5-10 guard, has already collected hardware from the conference as she was named the league’s freshman of the year in 2004 and appeared on the 2005 All-SLC honorable mention list. The Crowley, La., native ranked sixth in the conference in rebounding (7.2) and seventh in steals (1.9) per game last season. She also contributed 12.0 points per contest, while teammate Bell averaged 11.2 ppg. The duo were two of four Lady Demons that averaged better than 10 points per game last season.
Bell concluded her junior year topping the SLC and ranking 30th in the NCAA in assists per game with 5.3 per outing. The 5-4 senior guard from Bienville, La., appeared in the top 15 of five SLC statistical categories in 2005.
Wrapping up the final slot on the preseason teams is Mingee. Mingee, a 6-3 senior center, earned All-Southland honorable mention accolades last season after averaging 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She played in all 28 games and started four. The Piedmont, Okla., native finished sixth in the league in field goal percentage, with a 45.4 accuracy, and 10th in blocks per game, averaging nearly one a game.
UTSA opens the Southland Conference regular season action with a 2:30 p.m. game against West Virginia in the Central Florida Tournament on November 18.
2005-06 SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE PRESEASON WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM
First Team
Name Ht. Cl. Pos. School Hometown / Last School
Terra Wallace 5-7 Jr. G Texas-Arlington Round Rock, Texas / Austin Leander HS
Tamara Thompson6-0 Sr. F Texas State Austin, Texas / Tyler JC
Regina Spivey 5-11 Sr. F McNeese State Ruston, La. / Ruston HS
Michelle Biley 5-10 Sr. F Louisiana-Monroe West Monroe, La. / West Monroe HS
LaToya Mills 6-0 Sr. F Stephen F. Austin Houston, Texas / Kempner HS
Second Team
Name Ht. Cl. Pos. School Hometown / Last School
LaToya Carson 5-9 Jr. G Lamar Long Beach, Miss. / Long Beach HS
Chassidy Jones 5-10 Jr. G Northwestern State Crowley, La. / Crowley HS
Sheronda Bell 5-4 Sr. G Northwestern State Bienville, La. / Bienville HS
Ashley Bobb 5-11 Jr. F Texas-Arlington Garland, Texas / Texas Tech University
Lacy Mingee 6-3 Sr. C Texas-San Antonio Piedmont, Okla. / Piedmont HS