Candace Parker Named Associated Press First Team All-America

Sophomore is first Lady Vol recipient of first team honors since Tamika Catchings in 2000

Knoxville, Tenn. - University of Tennessee basketball player Candace Parker has been named an Associated Press first team All-American. This is her second AP award as she was a second-team recipient as a freshman.

"It's a huge honor," Parker said. "I wouldn't be where I am right now without my tremendous teammates."

Parker was a first-team pick on 49 of the 50 ballots from the national media panel that votes in the weekly Top 25, receiving 248 points. The voting was done before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

Through the first 30 games of her sophomore campaign, Parker averaged 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots per contest. Since the NCAA Tournament started and the votes were in, Naperville, Ill., native has shot 74 percent from the field and averaged 20.8 points and 10.3 boards per outing and carried the Lady Vols into their 17th NCAA Final Four.

Joining Parker on the first team were Courtney Paris of Oklahoma (46 first-team votes; 242 points), Duke's Lindsey Harding (44; 234), North Carolina's Ivory Latta (38; 218) and Ohio State's Jessica Davenport (20; 188).

Second team members were Crystal Langhorne (Maryland), Candice Wiggins (Stanford), Sylvia Fowles (LSU), Chrissy Givens (Middle Tennessee) and Angel McCoughtry (Louisville), while the third team included Purdue's Katie Gearlds, UNC's Erlana Larkins, Duke's Alison Bales, Ole Miss' Armintie Price and Georgia's Tasha Humphrey.

The Southeastern Conference, which has two of the remaining Final Four teams, placed four student-athletes on the three teams, while the Atlantic Coast Conference had five players.

The 2006-07 AP women's All-America basketball team with school, height, class and key regular-season statistics, followed in parentheses by first-team votes and points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis by a 50-member national media panel:

FIRST TEAM
Candace Parker, Tennessee, 6-4, sophomore 19.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.8 blocks, 1.9 steals, .520 fg pct (49 first-place votes, 248 points).
Courtney Paris, Oklahoma, 6-4, sophomore 23.6 ppg, 16.2 rpg, 3.5 blocks, .567 fg pct (46, 242).
Lindsey Harding, Duke, 5-8, senior, 14.0 ppg 3.9 apg, 4.1 rpg, 1.5 steals (44, 234).
Ivory Latta, North Carolina, 5-6, senior, 16.4 ppg 4.5 apg, 98 3-pointers, 1.6 steals, .841 ft pct (38, 218).
Jessica Davenport, Ohio State, 6-5, senior 20.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 2.8 blocks, .599 fg pct (20, 188).

SECOND TEAM
Sylvia Fowles, LSU, 6-6, junior 17.2 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 1.9 blocks, .578 fg pct (20, 182).
Candice Wiggins, Stanford, 5-11, junior 16.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.5 steals, 75 3-pointers (9, 141).
Crystal Langhorne, Maryland, 6-2, junior 15.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, .721 fg pct (6, 135).
Angel McCoughtry, Louisville, 6-1, sophomore 21.9 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 3.2 steals, .506 fg pct (6, 78).
Chrissy Givens, Middle Tennessee, 5-11 senior 22.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, 3.0 steals, .515 fg pct (5, 72).

THIRD TEAM
Katie Gearlds, Purdue, 6-1, senior 18.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 74 3-pointers, .893 ft pct (2, 67).
Erlana Larkins, North Carolina, 6-1, junior 13.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.2 steals, .552 fg pct (65).
Alison Bales, Duke, 6-7, senior 11.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.5 blocks, 1.9 apg (1, 58).
Armintie Price, Mississippi, 5-9 senior 18.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 4.7 apg, 3.8 steals (2, 49).
Tasha Humphrey, Georgia, 6-3, junior 16.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, .506 fg pct (1, 44).

HONORABLE MENTION
(In alphabetical order)
Matee Ajavon, Rutgers; Meredith Alexis, James Madison; Kimberly Beck, George Washington; Essence Carson, Rutgers; Tina Charles, Connecticut; Marissa Coleman, Maryland; Dee Davis, Vanderbilt; Jessica Dickson, South Florida; Natalie Doma, Idaho State; Shay Doron, Maryland; Krystal Ellis, Marquette; A'Quonesia Franklin, Texas A&M; Kamesha Hairston, Temple; Devanei Hampton, California; Stephanie Hawk, Gonzaga; Alexis Hornbuckle, Tennessee; Charde Houston, Connecticut; Tiffany Jackson, Texas; Crystal Kelly, Western Kentucky; Jackie McFarland, Colorado; Lyndsey Medders, Iowa State; Renee Montgomery, Connecticut; Carrie Moore, Western Michigan; Mandy Morales, Montana; Bernice Mosby, Baylor; Noelle Quinn, UCLA; Allie Quigley, DePaul; Jillian Robbins, Tulsa; Adrianne Ross, TCU; Brooke Smith, Stanford; Carla Thomas, Vanderbilt; Ashley Walker, California; Marcedes Walker, Pittsburgh; Abby Waner, Duke; Emily Westerberg, Arizona State; Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, Purdue; Dani Wright, BYU.

Note: Moore received one first-team vote.