March 1, 2005

PARK RIDGE , IL - Ohio State center Jessica Davenport became just the fourth sophomore in League history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year, it was announced Tuesday by the Conference office. The All-Big Ten Teams and postseason honors were decided following the conclusion of regular-season play in a vote amongst the League's head women's basketball coaches and a panel of selected media.

Davenport helped lead the Buckeyes to a share of the Big Ten Championship this past Sunday - Ohio State's first League crown since the 1992-93 season. Throughout her sophomore campaign this season, Davenport averaged 21.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks in Conference games and currently stands tied with Penn State's Tanisha Wright for the overall scoring lead at 19.6 points per outing. Just this week, Davenport gained her record-tying fifth Big Ten Player of the Week honor of the season after posting 29 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks in the Buckeyes' 68-58 win over Penn State, which clinched a share of the Conference title for OSU. Two weeks ago, Davenport recorded the first triple-double of her career as she posted 19 points, 13 rebounds and a Big Ten-record 12 blocks at sixth-ranked Michigan State. Davenport, who was named the WBCA National Player of the Month for January, is the first sophomore to win the League's top honor since Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen in 2002.

In addition, Penn State's Tanisha Wright earned her third consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award. She is the only student-athlete in the award's six-year history to win the honor more than once. While being assigned to guard her opponent's top player on a nightly basis, Wright managed to finished atop the League scoring list at 19.6 points per game.

Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson is the fifth Badger to earn Freshman of the Year honors and the first since Jessie Stomski in 1999. Anderson currently ranks third in overall scoring at 18.1 points per game, just one-tenth of a point shy of Penn State's Kelly Mazzante's League freshman mark of 18.2. Not since the 2000-01 season has a freshman averaged 17.0 points or better in a season. Wisconsin's newcomer put the exclamation mark on her record season with a 26-point effort at Purdue last Sunday.

For the first time since the 1999-2000 season, Big Ten Coach of the Year honors were split between the League's coaches and media. Michigan State's Joanne P. McCallie was voted by her peers after leading her No. 8 Spartans to a share of the Big Ten title and a 25-3 record, which marked a school-record for wins. She is only the second Spartan mentor to be honored by the League, as Karen Langeland earned the award in 1988. Third-year head coach Jim Foster led his fourth-ranked Ohio State squad to as high as a No. 2 ranking this season - its highest ranking in school history - as well as the school's first-ever No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament. The Buckeyes are currently 27-3 and ranked third by the Associated Press.

The complete list of 2005 Big Ten postseason honorees follows.

2004-05 All-Big Ten Women's Basketball Team
As Selected by the Coaches

HONORABLE MENTION: Tiffanie Guthrie, ILLINOIS; Cyndi Valentin, INDIANA; Rene Haynes, Kelli Roehrig, MICHIGAN STATE; Jamie Broback, Shannon Schonrock, MINNESOTA; Erin Lawless, PURDUE

COACHES' ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: Danyel Crutcher, ILLINOIS; Krista VandeVenter, IOWA; Ta'Shia Walker, MICHIGAN; Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, PURDUE; Jolene Anderson, WISCONSIN   

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jessica Davenport, Ohio State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tanisha Wright, Penn State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jim Foster, Ohio State

2004-05 All-Big Ten Women's Basketball Team
As Selected by the Media

HONORABLE MENTION: Tiffanie Guthrie, ILLINOIS; Cyndi Valentin, INDIANA; Crystal Smith, IOWA; Jamie Broback, Shannon Schonrock, MINNESOTA ; Erin Lawless, PURDUE

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jessica Davenport, Ohio State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin
COACH OF THE YEAR: Joanne P. McCallie, Michigan State
* - unanimous selection