March 5, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - BYU's Dani Wright and TCU's Adrianne Ross were selected as the Mountain West Conference women's basketball Co-Players of the Year for 2006-07 as chosen by head coaches, the MWC announced Monday. Newcomer of the Year honors went to Wyoming's Justyna Podziemska, while UNLV's Sequoia Holmes was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year. BYU's Jeff Judkins, who led the Cougars to their second consecutive MWC title, earned his second Coach of the Year honor.

Wright and Ross both earned their first Player of the Year award. Ross, a junior guard, led the league in scoring (17.2 ppg) and steals (3.3 spg) during the conference slate, while Wright (senior, center) was second in the league for field-goal percentage (.585), fourth in scoring (15.1 ppg), and fifth in rebounding (7.4 rpg) over the MWC schedule.

Four seniors, eight juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen make up this year's all-MWC team. All nine institutions were represented, as New Mexico had three players honored on the team. BYU, TCU, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming had two players apiece.

Five different institutions were honored on this year's first team. Joining Wright and Ross on the all-MWC first-team was Katie Montgomery of New Mexico and Hanna Zavecz of Wyoming, who each earned their second straight all-conference honor. Utah's Morgan Warburton was also selected to the first team for her performance during the conference season.

Dionne Marsh of New Mexico earned her third straight all-conference honor after being named to the second team. Mallary Gillespie of BYU and Ashley Davis of TCU earned second-team recognition after being named honorable mention last season. Sequoia Holmes of UNLV, Julie Briody of New Mexico and Justyna Podziemska were also named to the second team.

Air Force's Alecia Steele earned her second consecutive third-team honor. Sara Hunter of Colorado State, Shamela Hampton of UNLV, and a pair of freshmen, Utah's Kalee Whipple and San Diego State's Quenese Davis, were all-MWC third-team honorees.

First Team All-Mountain West Conference
*Dani Wright, BYU, Sr., 6-3, C
*Adrianne Ross, TCU, Jr., 5-8, G
Morgan Warburton, Utah, So., 5-11, G
*Katie Montgomery, New Mexico, Sr., 5-10, G
**Hanna Zavecz, Wyoming, Jr., 6-0, F

Second Team All-Mountain West Conference
Mallary Gillespie, BYU, Jr., 5-10, G
**Dionne Marsh, New Mexico, Jr., 6-1, F
Sequoia Holmes, UNLV, Jr., 6-1, F
Ashley Davis, TCU, Sr., 6-0, G
Julie Briody, New Mexico, Sr., 6-0, G
Justyna Podziemska, Wyoming, Jr., 6-2, F

Third Team All-Mountain West Conference
Sara Hunter, Colorado State, Jr., 5-6, G
Kalee Whipple, Utah, Fr., 6-0, F
*Alecia Steele, Air Force, Jr., 6-0, F
Shamela Hampton, UNLV, So., 6-3, C
Quenese Davis, San Diego State, Fr., 5-9, G

Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference
Hanna Biernacka, TCU, Sr., 6-0, F
Melinda Johnsen, BYU, Sr., 5-10, G/F
Shanna Demus, San Diego State, Jr., 5-8, F
Lauren Riley, BYU, Jr., 6-3, C

Co-Players of the Year: Dani Wright, BYU; Adrianne Ross, TCU
Newcomer of the Year: Justyna Podziemska, Wyoming
Defensive Player of the Year: Sequoia Holmes, UNLV
Coach of the Year: Jeff Judkins, BYU

*notes repeat all-conference selection
**notes three-time all-conference selection

Dani Wright (BYU) - Co-Player of the Year, First Team All-MWC
Dani Wright earns her first MWC Player of the Year and first-team award. She was second in the league for field-goal percentage (.585), fourth in scoring (15.1 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.4 rpg). In her senior year, she is first all-time in conference history in career field-goal percentage (.578) and 19th for blocked shots (62).

Adrianne Ross (TCU) - Co-Player of the Year, First Team All-MWC
Adrianne Ross was named to the all-MWC first team, marking her second consecutive all-conference honor. She led the league in scoring (17.2 ppg) and steals (3.3 spg) during the conference slate. She eclipsed 1,000 career points earlier this season and also ranks 14th all-time in the MWC in steals (166) after just two years in the league.

Morgan Warburton (Utah) - First Team All-MWC
Utah's Morgan Warburton earns her first first-team selection. After Utah lost two seniors to the WNBA, Warburton took over the leadership role for the Utes, ranking second in the league in scoring (17.0 ppg) and sixth in assists (2.9 apg) over the conference season. She led Utah with 26 double-figure scoring games this year.

Katie Montgomery (New Mexico) - First Team All-MWC
New Mexico's Katie Montgomery earns her second straight all-conference selection as she helped lead New Mexico to a tie for second place in the MWC standings. Montgomery was first for her free-throw percentage (.951), tied for third in assists (3.6) and was eighth in scoring (13.9 ppg) in conference play. All-time in the MWC, Montgomery stands 20th for points scored (1,090), fourth for 3-point field-goals made and percentage (216, .428) and fifth in assists (385).

Hanna Zavecz (Wyoming) - First Team All-MWC
Wyoming's Hanna Zavecz helped the Cowgirls to a No. 2 seed in this year's MWC Championship, their highest seed in tournament history. She was first in the league in blocked shots (1.5 bpg) and third in assists (3.6 apg). She currently ranks in the top 25 in six MWC career categories, including points (17th), field-goals made (T-21st), free-throws made (13th), blocked shots (8th), steals (21st) and assists (20th).