Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Bjorklund and Stricklen Earn Associated Press All-America Honors

University of Tennessee junior Angie Bjorklund and sophomore Shekinna Stricklen have both been named Honorable Mention Associated Press All-American.

They become the 11th and 12th Lady Vols to earn All-America honors from the Associated Press.

"I'm very proud and happy for both Angie and Shekinna. This honor is a testament to the hard work and energy that both have invested in improving their game," said Head Coach Pat Summitt. "Angie has really elevated her game. She's been devoted to getting in the gym and getting in extra shots, which has keyed her success. Angie was really a difference maker for us. Shekinna did a great job of running the point and her size out front is a definite advantage. She has learned to attack the paint, and when you factor that in with her pull-up game and her three-point shooting, she is a complete package."

Bjorklund was a unanimous choice to the First Team All-SEC by the league coaches and was also selected First Team All-SEC as chosen by the Associated Press. In addition, she was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was tabbed to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team. The Spokane Valley, Wash., native has climbed through the Tennessee record books in her third year at Rocky Top. Bjorklund has moved into third place on the career three-pointers list with 232 triples made and finished the campaign in second place in UT's single-season record books with 201 threes made. She led the team with 13.9 ppg, dished out 2.9 apg and grabbed 2.7 rpg.

Stricklen was named Second Team All-SEC by the conference coaches and the AP. She is a finalist for the Wooden Award, is a candidate for the Naismith Award and was named to the State Farm Wade Trophy Watch List. Stricklen recorded only the second triple-double in Lady Vol history when she scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out a career-best 12 assists against #14/15-ranked Oklahoma on Jan. 3, 2010, at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Morrilton, Ark., native was second on the team with 12.7 ppg, third with 6.1 rpg and boasts a team-high 3.9 apg.

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