March 10, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

2007-08 All-Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Team

Utah's Leilani Mitchell was selected as the Mountain West Conference women's basketball Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year for 2007-08 as chosen by the head coaches, the MWC announced Monday. Freshman of the Year honors went to TCU's Helena Sverrisdottir, while Wyoming's Hanna Zavecz was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in her career. Utah's Elaine Elliott, who guided the Utes to their sixth MWC title, earned her fourth Coach of the Year honor.

Mitchell, a senior guard, helped the Utes to a perfect 16-0 conference record and their sixth MWC regular-season title. She led the league in assists (7.75 ppg), and was second in steals (2.56 spg) and fourth in scoring (16.4 ppg) during the conference slate.

Ten seniors, two juniors and four sophomores make up this year's all-MWC team. Ten all-conference picks were repeat selections. Eight of the nine institutions were represented, as Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico each had three players honored on the team. TCU and UNLV had two players apiece.

Five different institutions were honored on this year's first team. Joining Mitchell on the all-MWC first-team was unanimous selection Morgan Warburton of Utah and Hanna Zavecz of Wyoming. Zavecz was named a first-team allconference member for the third consecutive year, while Warburton has been selected two years in a row. Sequoia Holmes of UNLV earned her second straight all-conference honor, while New Mexico's Dionne Marsh also garnered accolades, collecting her fourth all-MWC selection.

Four second-team honorees this year earned all-league honors for the second consecutive year. Adrianne Ross of TCU, Mallary Gillespie-Carling of BYU, Kalee Whipple of Utah and Wyoming's Justyna Podziemska all received second-team accolades after being all-MWC selections last season. Sophomore Jene Morris of San Diego State was also honored on the second-team after competing in just her first year in the league.

Air Force's Alecia Steele earned her third straight third-team honor, while UNLV's Shamela Hampton was honored on the third-team for the second consecutive year. Lorie Butler-Rayford of TCU, Brandi Kimble of New Mexico, and a pair of sophomores, Wyoming's Aubrey Vandiver and New Mexico's Amy Beggin, each made their first appearance on the all-conference list.

Leilani Mitchell (Utah) - Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-MWC
Leilani Mitchell helped the Utes to a perfect 16-0 conference record and their sixth MWC regular-season title. She led the league in assists (7.75 ppg), and was second in steals (2.56 spg) and fourth in scoring (16.4 ppg) during the conference slate. She led the Utes in scoring in six conference contests, scoring in double-figures four times and recording 14 20-point conference outings.

Morgan Warburton (Utah) - First Team All-MWC
Utah's Morgan Warburton earns her second consecutive first-team selection. Helping Utah to a 27-3 overall and 16-0 conference record, Warburton ranked first in the league in scoring (17.8 ppg), first in free-throw percentage (.917), sixth in field-goal percentage (.450) and ninth in steals (1.75 spg) over the conference campaign. The junior has scored double-figures in a league-leading 31 straight contests dating back to last season.

Hanna Zavecz (Wyoming) - Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-MWC
Wyoming's Hanna Zavecz helped the Cowgirls to a third-place finish in the MWC standings, their second-best finish in the history of the league. She was first in the league in blocked shots (1.63 bpg), fifth in assists (3.25 apg) and eighth in scoring (13.4 ppg). She currently ranks in the top 10 in seven MWC career categories, including free-throws made (2nd), blocked shots (3rd), assists (4th), steals (5th), rebounds (7th), points (7th) and field-goals made (8th).

Sequoia Holmes (UNLV) - First Team All-MWC
UNLV's Sequoia Holmes earns her second straight all-conference selection as she ranked in the top five of the league for scoring (3rd), rebounding (4th) and steals (4th). The senior scored in double-figures in 13 of the 16 conference games, including five 20+-point performances. All-time in the MWC, Holmes ranks first for steals (258) and 10th for scoring (1,478).

Dionne Marsh (New Mexico) - First Team All-MWC
New Mexico's Dionne Marsh earns her fourth consecutive all-MWC honor, including her second first-team selection. She was second in the league in scoring (17.6 ppg) and 10th in rebounding (6.1 rpg) during the conference slate. Marsh led the Lobos in scoring in 10 of the 16 conference games, including seven 20+-point outings. In her last regular-season outing, she became New Mexico's all-time leading scorer with 1,852 career points, ranking third all-time in the MWC.