SOUTH DAKOTA STATE TABBED AS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON FAVORITE

From The Summit League:

ELMHURST, Ill. - South Dakota State is the preseason favorite to win the 2008-09 Summit League Women’s Basketball Championship according to a poll of the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and selected media members. Oakland senior guard Jessica Pike earned recognition as the league’s preseason Player of the Year.

The Jackrabbits collected 23 of the 30 first place votes and totaled 428 points. Oakland and Oral Roberts had three first place votes each, with the Golden Grizzlies edging out the Golden Eagles for second place with 371 points compared to 358 points. IUPUI came in fourth with 313 points, while Western Illinois collected 241 points for fifth place. The remaining first place vote went to North Dakota State in sixth place with 226 points. IPFW (177 points), UMKC (140 points), Southern Utah (103 points) and Centenary (93 points) rounded out the voting.

Pike, a first team All-Summit League selection last season, returns after finishing fourth in the league in scoring a year ago with a 16.3 average. She has earned first team all-league status each of the last two seasons. Pike also finished fifth in the league at the charity stripe with an .802 clip.

IUPUI placed a pair of returnees on the first team in Jernisha Cann and Julia Whitted. A three-time all-league selection, Cann is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in rebounds (9.9 rpg) and steals (3.06 spg). Whitted finished first in the league and seventh nationally with 3.18 blocks per contest and also led the Jaguars in scoring (14.4 ppg). At last season’s basketball championships, Whitted set a new tournament single-game record with eight blocks against UMKC.

Chazny Morris of UMKC was a second team All-Summit League member a year ago and the 2006-07 Newcomer of the Year. She finished second in the league in scoring with a 17.6 average and tied for first in free throw percentage at .831. Oral Roberts’ Mariana Camargo earned first team honors after leading the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Tournament and finishing second in the league in assists with 5.0 per outing.

Also on the first team is South Dakota State’s Jennifer Warkenthien, who led the Jackrabbits in scoring last season with a 13.9 average and was named to the all-league first team last season. Warkenthien helped lead the Jacks to a 23-7 record and first-place league mark of 16-2, en route to a berth into the WNIT.

The second team consists of IPFW’s Jordan Zuppe, the lone underclasswoman on the two teams, who finished second in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.433). Melissa Jeltema of Oakland and Janae Voelker of Oral Roberts were also named after averaging over 10 points and eight rebounds per game last season.

Rounding out the second team are South Dakota State’s Maria Boever, who finished second in the league in field goal percentage (.533) and Southern Utah’s Anne Westwood-Higbee, who led the Thunderbirds in points and rebounds per contest.

This season, The Summit League Women’s Basketball Championship moves to Sioux Falls, S.D., with tournament dates set for March 7-10. The league’s top eight seeds will advance to Sioux Falls Arena to compete for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Eight teams kick off the season on Nov. 14, while the league portion of the schedule begins Dec. 4, when South Dakota State hosts Centenary.

The Summit League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Media Teleconference is slated for 10 a.m. (CST) Wednesday, Oct. 29.

Rank


School (first-place votes)


Points

1.


South Dakota State (23)


428

2.


Oakland (3)


371

3.


Oral Roberts (3)


358

4.


IUPUI


313

5.


Western Illinois


241

6.


North Dakota State (1)


226

7.


IPFW


177

8.


UMKC


140

9.


Southern Utah


103

10.


Centenary


93

FIRST TEAM

Name, School


Pos.


Yr.


Hometown


PPG


RPG


APG

Mariana Camargo, Oral Roberts


G


Sr.


Blumenau, Brazil


13.3


5.1


5.0

Jernisha Cann, IUPUI


F


Sr.


Kansas City, Mo.


12.7


9.9


3.1

Chazny Morris, UMKC


G


Jr.


Oakland, Calif.


17.6


5.8


2.4

Jessica Pike, Oakland


G


Sr.


Clawson, Mich.


16.3


4.1


2.9

Jennifer Warkenthien, South Dakota State


F


Sr.


Willow Lake, S.D.


13.9


6.6


2.3

Julia Whitted, IUPUI


C


Jr.


Staunton, Ind.


14.4


8.8


0.7



SECOND TEAM

Maria Boever, South Dakota State


F


Jr.


Worthington, Minn.


12.2


5.7


1.1

Melissa Jeltema, Oakland


G


Jr.


Grand Rapids, Mich.


13.4


8.0


1.1

Janae Voelker, Oral Roberts


G/F


Jr.


Newton, Okla.


11.4


8.4


1.7

Anne Westwood-Higbee, Southern Utah


F/C


Sr.


Cedar City, Utah


10.5


8.1


1.5

Jordan Zuppe, IPFW


G


So.


Aliquippa, Pa.


11.2


3.7


2.1



Preseason Player of the Year: Jessica Pike, Oakland