Jackson and Villarroel named to the All-Big 12 second team

Oklahoma's Dionnah Jackson and Maria Villarroel were named to the All-Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball second team as voted on by the league coaches and released by the Big 12 office Friday. Senior Caton Hill also earned All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades.

The trio guided OU to a sixth-place conference finish at 9-7 and an overall record of 19-8. OU, who's ranked 17th in the AP and 19th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls, won the Bertha Teague Classic and the Pepperdine Invitational in November as well as defeating four ranked opponents. Villarroel, Hill and Jackson are responsible for 38.5 ppg (53%) and 17.6 rpg (43%) for the Sooners.

Jackson, a 2003 All-Big 12 second teamer, ranks among the league's best in six different categories including, third in assists (5.3) and steals (2.6) per game. In addition, the St. Louis, Mo., native ranks third on the team in scoring with 11.7 points per game, while Villarroel tops the squad and ranks ninth in the Big 12 with 14.4 ppg.

Earning her first All-Big 12 honor, Villarroel appears among the NCAA elite in field goal percentage, with a 55.7 accuracy, ranking her 18th in the nation. The Margarita, Venezuela, native has led the team in scoring 12 times and registered 20-plus points against seven different opponents this season.

Hill is one of two Sooners that has played and started all 27 games this season. The Ada, Okla., native earned All-Big 12 third team honors in 2002 and second team merits in 2001. She missed the 2003 season due to an ACL injury. The 6-1 forward averages a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game and ranks second in scoring with 12.4 points per game. She is also OU's best three-point shooter, hitting 39.0 percent from the arc (32-of-82).

Texas' Jody Conradt repeated as Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year while Kansas State senior Nicole Ohlde earned her second straight Big 12 Player of the Year Award.

Joining Ohlde on the All-Big 12 Conference first team were teammate Kendra Wecker, Texas' Stacy Stephens, Heather Schreiber and Jamie Carey; Colorado's Tera Bjorklund, Missouri's Evan Unrau, Texas A&M's Toccara Williams; and Baylor's Sophia Young and Steffanie Blackmon.

Oklahoma State's Nina Stone was selected Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, while Texas' Tiffany Jackson was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

OU will be the sixth seed in the upcoming 2004 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament that will be hosted inside Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas next week. The Sooners first opponent will be 11th seed Texas A&M (9-18, 2-14 Big 12) on Tuesday, March 9, at 8:30 p.m.

2003-2004 All-Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Teams

First Team
Name/University                            Yr.
Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State            Sr
Kendra Wecker, Kansas State       Jr
Stacy Stephens, Texas                   Sr
Tera Bjorklund, Colorado               Sr
Evan Unrau, Missouri                       Sr
Heather Schreiber, Texas               Jr
Toccara Williams, Texas A&M         Sr
Sophia Young, Baylor                      So
Steffanie Blackmon, Baylor             Jr
Jamie Carey, Texas                         Jr
.
Second Team
Erin Grant, Texas Tech                   So
Dionnah Jackson, Oklahoma     Jr
Tiffany Jackson, Texas                    Fr
Laurie Koehn, Kansas State           Jr
Maria Villarroel, Oklahoma        Sr

Honorable Mention
Alesha Robertson, Texas Tech; Caton Hill, Oklahoma; Keasha Cannon-Johnson, Nebraska; Kate Fagan, Colorado; Megan Mahoney, Kansas State; Alexa Johnson, Nebraska; Stretch James, Missouri; Randie Wirt, Colorado; Anne O'Neil, Iowa State

Big 12 Coach of the Year: Jody Conradt, Texas
Big 12 Player of the Year: Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State
Big 12 Newcomer of the Year: Nina Stone, Oklahoma State, G, 5-7, Jr, Indianapolis, Ind.
Big 12 Freshman of the Year: Tiffany Jackson, Texas

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Jackson and Villarroel named to the All-Big 12 second team

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