April 25, 2008
NORFOLK, Va. - The Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) announced today the 2007-08 University Division Women's Basketball All-State Teams and individual awards. Old Dominion's Wendy Larry earned the Coach of the Year accolade, while senior T.J. Jordan (Portsmouth, Va.) was named First Team All-State and teammates Tiffany Green (Chesapeake, Va.), Shahida Williams (Newark, N.J.), and Jazzmin Walters (Norfolk, Va.) were honorable mention selections.
Larry, in her 21st season with Old Dominion, guided the Lady Monarchs back to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and to their highest national ranking in eight years as the team was ranked as high as 10th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Polls. She was named CAA Coach of the Year for the seventh time as she coached her team to a 17-1 record in conference play and captured the regular season title for the 14th time in the last 17 years. She also guided the team to its unprecedented 17th straight CAA Championship while in the process, winning her 500th game at Old Dominion. Her team finished with a 31-5 record with four of the five losses coming to teams that advanced to the Final Four.
Jordan, a senior guard, was the leading scorer for Old Dominion as they advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament. A First-Team All-CAA and Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team honoree, during the season she became the all-time program and conference leader in three-point baskets. Jordan was named the Portsmouth Sports Club College Female Athlete of the Year and ended her career ranked 13th on the All-Time ODU scoring leaders list with 1,525 career points.
Green, a junior forward, was a CAA All-Defensive Team and Second Team All-CAA selection and was also a member of the CAA's All-Tournament Team. Green led the conference in blocks per game and ranked seventh in the CAA averaging 7.6 rebounds per game. Against Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament, she posted her 1,000 career point becoming the 26th Lady Monarch to accomplish the feat.
Williams, a senior forward, helped the Lady Monarchs to their 17th consecutive CAA title as she was named the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Her 10-for-11 shooting (.909) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament is tied for the seventh highest shooting percentage all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Williams averaged 15.0 points and shot 58.3 percent from the field at CAA Tournament and shot 65 percent during the three NCAA Tournament games and 88.2 percent during the first and second rounds. "Greedy", as she is known to teammates and fans, finished her career just shy of the 1,000 point career mark having captured 959 career points.
Walters, the smallest player in ODU history will be long remember for making one of the biggest shots in Lady Monarch history. Five-foot two Walters connected on a three-pointer with 4.8 seconds in overtime against Virginia to send ODU to the "Sweet 16" for the first time since 2002. Additionally, the junior point guard, led the CAA in assists and was fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team, who captured their 17th straight Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title and danced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament, finished the year with a 31-5 record and a No. 10 ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Final Poll. It was the Lady Monarch's best record since the 1998-97 season. Four of the Lady Monarchs' five losses came against teams that reached this year's Final Four (Connecticut, Stanford, Tennessee).
First Team All-State
Tamera Young, James Madison
Megan Frazee, Liberty
Monica Wright, Virginia
T.J. Jordan, Old Dominion
Brittany Cook, Virginia Tech
Second Team All-State
Krystal Vaughn, Virginia Commonwealth
Kyra Kaylor, William & Mary
Kelli Darden, Radford
Lyndra Littles, Virginia
Moriah Frazee, Liberty
Honorable Mention
Sharneé Zoll, Virginia
Tiffany Green, Old Dominion
Shahida Williams, Old Dominion
Jazzmin Walters, Old Dominion
Aisha Mohammed, Virginia