Women's Basketball Nabs Two Preseason Honors

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma freshman center Courtney Paris was named Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year while junior forward Leah Rush was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team as announced by the conference offices on Tuesday morning.

The Big 12 Coaches also named Sophia Young (Baylor) as the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year while Shaquina Mosley (Kansas) was chosen Preseason Newcomer of the Year.

Paris, who also received votes for the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, was named the 2005 National High School Player of the Year by USA Today and the Naismith Trophy Foundation. The prototype power center averaged 27.0 points, 19.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game as a senior at Piedmont (Calif.) High School. She earned two gold medals this past summer while playing for the USA FIBA U19 championship team.

“Courtney's honor, while not a huge surprise since she was the National High School Player of the Year, is still extremely special,” said OU head coach Sherri Coale. “Our league boasts lots of talented freshmenmany who will make significant impacts on their respective teams and on this league. Courtney is undoubtedly a difference maker on both ends of the floor. She is young and she has a lot to learn but she has no intentions of being typical. So this is exactly the way she wanted the year to start.”

Sooners have claimed the regular season freshman of the year award on two occasions. LaNeishea Caufield won after the 1998-99 season, while current Sooner Chelsi Welch nabbed the award after the 2002-03 campaign.

It is the first preseason Big 12 honor of Rush's career. Last season she averaged 15.5 points per game, fourth best among returning Big 12 players, while claiming second team All-Big 12 honors. The All-America candidate also ranked 15th in rebounds (6.3 ppg) and fourth in free throw percentage (.847).

“Leah is one of our leaders and a consummate competitor,” said Coale. “Knowing Leah as I do, however, she will shrug and say it's a just a prediction - she'll have to prove it over the next 5 months. That mindset is one of the things I love most about her.”

Rounding out the Preseason All-Big 12 Team were Erin Grant (Texas Tech), Tiffany Jackson (Texas) and Kiera Hardy (Nebraska).

OU, which has been ranked No. 20 and No. 23 by two preseason publications, begins their 2005-06 season with a home exhibition game against Oklahoma Christian on Nov. 3. The regular season will begin with the Preseason WNIT and opening-round opponent Wisconsin-Milwaukee at the Lloyd Noble Center on Nov. 11.

2005-06 Schedule | PDF | Basketball Ticket Information

The Sooner men's and women's basketball teams will hold their annual Baseline Bash preseason event, presented by Arvest Banks and produced by the Campus Activities Council, on Friday, Oct. 21, at Lloyd Noble Center. Doors to the event, which starts at 7 p.m., will open at 6 p.m. Admission is free.

A 45-minute men's and women's basketball autograph session on Lloyd Noble's upper concourse will start the evening at 6:15 before a pep rally begins at 7.

Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Sophia Young, Baylor
Kiera Hardy, Nebraska
Leah Rush, Oklahoma
Tiffany Jackson, Texas
Erin Grant, Texas Tech

Honorable Mention (listed alphabetically by school):
Baylor: Abiola Wabara; Iowa State: Lyndsey Medders; Kansas: Crystal Kemp; Kansas State: Claire Coggins; Oklahoma: Courtney Paris; Texas: Nina Norman; Texas A&M: Morenike Atunrase; Texas Tech: Chesley Dabbs, LaToya Davis, Alesha Robertson.

Preseason Player of the Year: Sophia Young, Baylor, F, 6-1, Sr
Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Shaquina Mosley, Kansas, G, 5-6, Jr
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, C, 6-4, Fr, Piedmont, Calif.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Women's Basketball Nabs Two Preseason Honors

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