MONROE, La. — Sylvia Fowles has been named the 2007 Louisiana Player of the Year after leading the LSU Lady Tigers to their fourth consecutive NCAA Women’s Final Four appearance. Fowles is one of three LSU players named to the 2007 Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-Louisiana College Women’s Basketball Team.
The team members are nominated by the sports information directors at the state women’s basketball-playing schools and then voted on by members of the LSWA.
Fowles, a junior center, was named one of 10 Kodak All-Americans on March 31 prior to LSU’s semifinal game against Rutgers. Going into the Women’s Final Four, she averaged 17.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game this season and was named as the Fresno Regional Most Outstanding Player after posting 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in LSU’s regional wins over Florida State and Connecticut.
Fowles is joined on the All-Louisiana First Team by teammate Quianna Chaney, Louisiana-Lafayette senior Yolanda Jones, Louisiana Tech senior Shan Moore, and Tulane senior Jami Montagnino. Jones led the Cajuns to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007, while Montagnino took the Green Wave into the second round of the Women’s NIT.
Jones’ head coach over the past four years, J. Kelley Hall, was named the Louisiana Coach of the Year as the Cajuns recorded the best season in program history en route to the Cajuns first-ever post-season appearance – an 11 seed in the Dayton Regional. A school record tying 13 road victories paved the way for a 23-7 regular season and a second Sun Belt West championship in the last three seasons.
Moore is one of two Lady Techsters to be named All-Louisiana. Ty Moore was named to the second team, while teammate Jo Sneed was named the Louisiana Newcomer of the Year. Sneed was Louisiana Tech’s fourth leading scorer and third leading rebounder despite averaging only 19 minutes a game this season.
Joining T. Moore on the All-Louisiana Second Team are Chassidy Jones of Northwestern State, D’Aundra Henry of Tulane, Le’Della English of New Orleans, and Louisiana Freshman of the Year Trenese Smith of Loyola.
Smith was recently named NAIA All-America honorable mention and led the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (17th in the NAIA) in scoring with 17.6 points per game. She ranked sixth in the NAIA in three point field goal percentage (.437). The GCAC Player and Freshman of the Year broke the Loyola single season records for points scored (599) and free throws made (220) this season. The NAIA coaches ranked the Wolfpack 21st in their last poll this
season- the program’s highest ranking since the Loyola women first took the floor in 1995. The team earned an automatic berth to the NAIA’s National Championship Tournament , where they fell to Southern Nazarene 78-77 in overtime.
LSU’s Erica White is the third Lady Tiger to be honored with a spot on the third team. White is joined on the third team by Lacey Cormier of Grambling, Jamie Octave of Nicholls State, Jarryn Cleaves of Xavier, and Brenita Williams of Southeastern Louisiana.
2007 All-Louisiana Women’s Basketball Team
First Team
Sylvia Fowles LSU
Yolanda Jones Louisiana-Lafayette
Shan Moore Louisiana Tech
Jami Montagnino Tulane
Quianna Chaney LSU
Second Team
Ty Moore Louisiana Tech
Trenese Smith Loyola
Chassidy Jones Northwestern State
D’Aundra Henry Tulane
Le’Della English New Orleans
Third Team
Lacey Cormier Grambling
Jamie Octave Nicholls State
Erica White LSU
Jarryn Cleaves Xavier
Brenita Williams Southeastern Louisiana
Freshman of the Year – Trenese Smith, Loyola
Newcomer of the Year – Jo Sneed, Louisiana Tech
Player of the Year – Sylvia Fowles, LSU
Coach of the Year – J. Kelley Hall, Louisiana-Lafayette