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Gonzaga Women's Basketball

Vandersloot lands on AP second team

Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot, left, was named to the second team AP All-American team on Tuesday. Stanford's Jeanette Pohlen, right, made the first team. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
By Dave Trimmer davetrimmer@yahoo.com
Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot, left, was named to the second team AP All-American team on Tuesday. Stanford's Jeanette Pohlen, right, made the first team. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
Courtney Vandersloot achieved another milestone on Tuesday, becoming the first Gonzaga and West Coast Conference women’s basketball player to earn Associated Press second-team All-American honors. Vandersloot, who led the Bulldogs to the Elite Eight, where their season was derailed by top-seeded Stanford 83-60 Monday night at the Arena, was given honorable mention the past two years. She is the first male or female in NCAA history to accumulate more than 2,000 points and 1,000 assists, finishing with 2,073 points and 1,118 assists. The 5-foot-8 guard from Kent, Wash., set the NCAA single-season assist record with 367 this year and the Gonzaga single-season scoring record with 712. Voting by the 39-member national media panel that votes in the weekly Top 25 was done prior to the start of the NCAA tournament, when Vandersloot increased her national exposure by averaging 29.25 points and 10 assists in four games as Gonzaga become the lowest seed to advance to a regional final. Joining Vandersloot on the second team are Duke guard Jasmine Thomas, Oklahoma guard Danielle Robinson, Stanford forward Nnemka Ogwumike and Xavier forward Amber Harris. The only guard on the first team is Jeanette Pohlen of Stanford. Forward Maya Moore of Connecticut is only the second four-time first-team pick. She is joined by Baylor center Brittney Griner, Ohio State center Jantel Lavender and Texas A&M forward Danielle Adams. Vandersloot earlier was named the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award winner as the best player 5-foot-8 or shorter. She was also named the WCC Player of the Year and WCC tournament MVP for the third consecutive year. She is one of 12 finalist for the Wade Trophy, one of 20 finalists for the State Farm Coach’s All-America team, finalist for the Wooden Award and All-America team, and finalist for the Lieberman Award as the top point guard. The third team includes Shekinna Strickland of Tennessee, Shenise Johnson of Miami, Victoria Dunlap of Kentucky, Ta’Shia Phillips of Xavier and Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame. Tennessee senior Angie Bjorklund (U-Hi) was given honorable mention again.