Thompson, Olajuwon Named All-Americans

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma women's basketball signee Amanda Thompson (Chicago, Ill.) will compete in the WBCA All-America Game presented by Nike on Saturday, April 1 at Matthews Arena on Northeastern University's campus in Boston, Mass. The consensus top-10 athlete was named a WBCA All-American, while fellow signee Abi Olajuwon was named a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American.

The Sooners also landed two All-Americans last season in freshmen phenoms Courtney and Ashley Paris.

The 20 players who have been chosen will be divided into two teams of ten players. The game is scheduled to tip-off during the “WBCA Night of All-Stars” doubleheader event at 4:30 p.m. (ET) followed by the WBCA All-Star Challenge, which will feature 20 of the top senior collegiate players in the nation who are not playing in the NCAA Women's Final Four. This highly-anticipated event is part of the 25th Annual WBCA National Convention, which takes place at the site of the NCAA Women's Final Four.

“The WBCA High School All-America Game Selection Committee has done a great job assembling twenty of the best high school players in the country,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “The WBCA is honored to be hosting the High School All-America Game presented by Nike, continuing to showcase the future of women's basketball.”

Thompson has been ranked as high as No. 5 by national recruiting services. The Chicago native is a gritty power forward, who has the skills to dominate the block and run a point-forward role similar to that fulfilled by Sooner legend Dionnah Jackson.

Thompson isn't short on the offensive end, where she averaged 16.9 points to go along with 11 rebounds and four steals as junior. The five-star recruit spent a portion of her summer at the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival where she led her team to a gold medal while tallying 9.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG. With the added international experience, Thompson hopes to help Whitney Young High School improve upon its 2004-05 record of 28-2 and state runner up finish.

Olajuwon, who is the daughter of NBA legend and Houston graduate Hakeem Olajuwon, averaged 15.9 points and 14.4 rebounds as a junior at Marlborough School. She has led Marlborough to three consecutive state titles, while garnering All-California Interscholastic Federation honors the last two seasons.

Olajuwon and Thompson teamed up last summer to lead the USA Blue squad to a gold medal at the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival. Prior to her USA experience, Olajuwon landed on the national map when she was named a USA Today Sophomore All-American.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Thompson, Olajuwon Named All-Americans

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