March 5, 2003

Chicago - Houston junior forward Chandi Jones and Charlotte head coach Katie Meier headline the list of Conference USA women's basketball award winners announced by the league tonight. A ceremony was held at the Convention Center in Memphis, Tenn., site of the 2003 Conference USA Tournament.

Meier was named Coach of the Year after leading the Charlotte 49ers to the conference's regular season title. It marked the first conference title for the Niners since 1990, when they were Co-Sun Belt Conference champions. This season, Charlotte recorded its best record ever in C-USA play with a 12-2 mark and have also notched the most wins in a season since 1992, when the Niners went 20-8. The Niners have now won three straight and nine of their last 11 games overall.

Jones became only the second player in C-USA history to be recognized as Player of the Year in consecutive seasons, joining Memphis' Tamika Whitmore, who earned Player of the Year honors in 1998 and 1999. Jones leads the nation in scoring with 27.5 points per game and ranks 14th in steals (3.37 pg). She is currently only 20 points away from becoming Houston's all-time scoring leader and ranks fifth on C-USA's all-time scoring list with 1,938 points. She is also only 62 points away from moving into the top 3 of the nation's fastest to reach the 2,000 point plateau. She closed out the regular season notching a league-high 14 30-plus point performances and 12 double-doubles.

Joining Jones on the first team are a trio of Cincinnati players, senior K.B. Sharp, junior Valerie King and sophomore Debbie Merrill, as well as Louisville senior point guard Sara Nord. This season, Sharp ranked second in league assists with 6.07 per game, while also breaking the school record of career assists with 603. She ranks third in C-USA free throw percentage (83.7 percent) and 15th in scoring (13.2 ppg). King is second among the conference leaders in free throw percentage (85.9 percent) and three-pointers made (2.89 pg), while ranking sixth in scoring average (16.3 ppg). Merrill led the Bearcats in scoring and ranked second in Conference USA with 18.4 points per game. She also ranks in the top 10 in the league in rebounding (sixth) and field goal percentage (eighth). Nord became C-USA all-time assist leader with 642 in her three-year career. She currently leads the league with 7.0 assists per game, while also placing among the league leaders in three-pointers (2.30 pg) and steals (2.48 pg).

The All-Conference second team includes: Charlotte junior guard Peaches Harris, DePaul sophomore guard Jenni Dant, TCU sophomore forward Sandora Irvin and senior center Teana McKiver and senior forward Gwen Slaughter of Tulane.

Named to the All-Conference third team were three forwards, senior Alicia Abernathy of Charlotte, freshman Khara Smith of DePaul and junior Natasha Thomas of UAB, along with a pair of senior center in Louisville's Lori Nero and Shannon Hamp of Memphis, along with East Carolina sophomore guard Jennifer Jackson.

DePaul's Khara Smith was named Freshman of the Year, after leading all freshmen in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 pg). Joining Smith on the All-Freshman team is Marquette's Carolyn Kieger and the Charlotte trio of Pam Brown, Sakellie Daniels, Andrea Davidson.

The league's Sixth Player of the Year award went to Charlotte's Peaches Harris, while Defensive Player of the Year honors were given to TCU's Sandora Irvin. Harris averaged 14.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game off then bench for the Niners, while Irvin led the league and ranked second in the nation with 4.11 blocks per game, while helping the Horned Frogs limit their opponents to a 36.3 shooting percentage.

Six of the 16 players that earned all-conference recognition were seniors. A total of five honorees were underclassmen. Cincinnati had the most overall selections with three, while Charlotte, DePaul, Louisville, TCU and Tulane each had two.

Conference USA award winners were selected by a panel including the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media representatives.

2003 CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS

All-Conference First Team Chandi Jones, Houston F Jr. Bay City, Texas Valerie King, Cincinnati G Jr. Washington Courthouse, Ohio Sara Nord, Louisville G Jr. Jeffersonville, Ind. K.B. Sharp, Cincinnati G Sr. Columbus, Ohio Debbie Merrill, Cincinnati C So. Comberland City, Tenn.

Second Team Jenni Dant, DePaul G So. Lincolnshire, Ill. Peaches Harris, Charlotte G Jr. St. Louis, Mo. Sandora Irvin, TCU F So. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Teana McKiver, Tulane C Sr. Beulaville, La. Gwen Slaughter, Tulane F Sr. Mamou, La.

Third Team Alicia Abernathy, Charlotte F Jr. Hickory, N.C. Shannon Hamp, Memphis C Sr. Monroe, La. Jennifer Jackson, East Carolina G So. Farmville, Va. Lori Nero, Louisville C Sr. Baton Rouge, La. Khara Smith, DePaul F Fr. Hillside, Ill. Natasha Thomas, UAB F Jr. Moulton, Ala.

All-Freshman Team Khara Smith, DePaul F Fr. Hillside, Ill. Pam Brown, Charlotte C Fr. Coppell, Texas Sakellie Daniels, Charlotte G Fr. Raeford, N.C. Carolyn Kieger, Marquette G Fr. Roseville, Minn. Andrea Davidson, Charlotte G Fr. Gainesboro, Tenn.

Coach of the Year Katie Meier, Charlotte

Player of the Year Chandi Jones, F, Houston

Freshman of the Year Khara Smith, F, DePaul

Defensive Player of the Year Sandora Irvin, F, TCU

Sixth Player of the Year Peaches Harris, G, Charlotte