PARK RIDGE, IL – Ohio State center Jessica Davenport became just the
fourth sophomore in League history to be named Big Ten Player of the Year, it
was announced Tuesday by the Conference office. The All-Big Ten Teams and
postseason honors were decided following the conclusion of regular-season play
in a vote amongst the League’s head women’s basketball coaches and a panel
of selected media.
Davenport helped lead the Buckeyes to a share of the Big Ten Championship
this past Sunday – Ohio State’s first League crown since the 1992-93 season.
Throughout her sophomore campaign this season, Davenport averaged 21.7 points,
10.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks in Conference games and currently stands tied with
Penn State’s Tanisha Wright for the overall scoring lead at 19.6 points per
outing. Just this week, Davenport gained her record-tying fifth Big Ten Player
of the Week honor of the season after posting 29 points, 16 rebounds and six
blocks in the Buckeyes’ 68-58 win over Penn State, which clinched a share of
the Conference title for OSU. Two weeks ago, Davenport recorded the first
triple-double of her career as she posted 19 points, 13 rebounds and a Big
Ten-record 12 blocks at sixth-ranked Michigan State. Davenport, who was named
the WBCA National Player of the Month for January, is the first sophomore to win
the League’s top honor since Minnesota’s Lindsay Whalen in 2002.
In addition, Penn State’s Tanisha Wright earned her third consecutive
Defensive Player of the Year award. She is the only student-athlete in the award’s
six-year history to win the honor more than once. While being assigned to guard
her opponent’s top player on a nightly basis, Wright managed to finished atop
the League scoring list at 19.6 points per game.
Wisconsin’s Jolene Anderson is the fourth Badger to earn Freshman of the Year
honors and the first since Jessie Stomski in 1999. Anderson currently ranks
third in overall scoring at 18.1 points per game, just one-tenth of a point shy
of Penn State’s Kelly Mazzante’s League freshman mark of 18.2. Not since the
2000-01 season has a freshman averaged 17.0 points or better in a season.
Wisconsin’s newcomer put the exclamation mark on her record season with a
26-point effort at Purdue last Sunday.
For the first time since the 1999-2000 season, Big Ten Coach of the Year honors
were split between the League’s coaches and media. Michigan State’s Joanne
P. McCallie was voted by her peers after leading her No. 8 Spartans to a share
of the Big Ten title and a 25-3 record, which marked a school-record for wins.
She is only the second Spartan mentor to be honored by the League, as Karen
Langeland earned the award in 1988. Third-year head coach Jim Foster led his
fourth-ranked Ohio State squad to as high as a No. 2 ranking this season – its
highest ranking in school history – as well as the school’s first-ever No. 1
seed in the upcoming Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Buckeyes are
currently 27-3 and ranked third by the Associated Press.
The complete list of 2005 Big Ten postseason honorees follows.
2004-05 All-Big Ten Women’s Basketball Team
As Selected by the Coaches
All-Big Ten First Team
Kristin Haynie, Michigan State
Janel McCarville, Minnesota*
Jessica Davenport, Ohio State*
Jess Strom, Penn State
Tanisha Wright, Penn State*
All-Big Ten Second Team
Angelina Williams, Illinois
Lindsay Bowen, Michigan State
Liz Shimek, Michigan State
Caity Matter, Ohio State
Katie Gearlds, Purdue
All-Big Ten Third Team
Jamie Cavey, Iowa
Crystal Smith, Iowa
Tabitha Pool, Michigan
Brandie Hoskins, Ohio State
Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin
HONORABLE MENTION: Tiffanie Guthrie, ILLINOIS; Cyndi Valentin,
INDIANA; Rene Haynes, Kelli Roehrig, MICHIGAN STATE; Jamie Broback,
Shannon Schonrock, MINNESOTA; Erin Lawless, PURDUE
COACHES’ ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: Danyel Crutcher, ILLINOIS; Krista
VandeVenter, IOWA; Ta’Shia Walker, MICHIGAN; Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton,
PURDUE; Jolene Anderson, WISCONSIN
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jessica Davenport, Ohio State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tanisha Wright, Penn State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jim Foster, Ohio State
2004-05 All-Big Ten Women’s Basketball Team
As Selected by the Media
All-Big Ten First Team
Angelina Williams, Illinois
Janel McCarville, Minnesota
Jessica Davenport, Ohio State*
Jess Strom, Penn State
Tanisha Wright, Penn State
All-Big Ten Second Team
Jamie Cavey, Iowa
Lindsay Bowen, Michigan State
Kristin Haynie, Michigan State
Liz Shimek, Michigan State
Caity Matter, Ohio State
All-Big Ten Third Team
Tabitha Pool, Michigan
Kelli Roehrig, Michigan State
Brandie Hoskins, Ohio State
Katie Gearlds, Purdue
Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin
HONORABLE MENTION: Tiffanie Guthrie, ILLINOIS; Cyndi Valentin, INDIANA;
Crystal Smith, IOWA; Jamie Broback, Shannon Schonrock, MINNESOTA;
Erin Lawless, PURDUE
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jessica Davenport, Ohio State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin
COACH OF THE YEAR: Joanne P. McCallie, Michigan State
* - unanimous selection
All-session tickets for the 2005 Big Ten Women's
Basketball Tournament are now on sale for the general public for $55 at all
Ticketmaster outlets, including the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster
charge-by-phone numbers (317-239-5151 in central Indiana) and www.ticketmaster.com.
The Tournament returns to Indianapolis and Conseco Fieldhouse, featuring 10
games over five days, March 3-7, 2005.