March 9, 2011

2010-11 Pac-10 Media Awards

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford senior point guard Jeanette Pohlen earned the Pac-10 Player of the Year honor, forward Chiney Ogwumike Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and Tara VanDerveer Pac-10 Coach of the Year in a vote of a panel of media members who cover the Pac-10.

Pohlen, Ogwumike, Nnemkadi Ogwumike and Kayla Pedersen were all voted to the media's All-Pac-10 Team, while Chiney Ogwumike was voted to both the All-Freshman and All-Defensive Teams.

Stanford opens Pac-10 Tournament play in Friday's semifinal round at 12 p.m., taking on the winner of Thursday's Arizona-USC contest.

It was a second day of honors for Stanford's quartet of starters, who were all named to the All-Pac-10 Team Tuesday in the voting done by the conference head coaches. Pohlen, Ogwumike and VanDerveer were each named Pac-10 Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year, respectively, as well.

Pohlen is averaging 15.8 points and 4.83 assists a game in 2010-11, while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and Pac-10-leading figures of 43.2 percent from 3-point range and 90.8 percent from the free-throw line. She has also hit 80 3-pointers this season, just 11 shy of Krista Rappahahn's Stanford single-season record of 91 set in 2005-06.

Chiney Ogwumike averages 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds a game while shooting 56.7 percent from the field. Ogwumike currently leads all Pac-10 freshmen in rebounding, field-goal percentage and blocked shots (0.8 bpg) while ranking second in scoring. Defensively, Ogwumike has notched a Pac-10 freshman-high 23 blocks as well as a team-leading 43 steals,

Junior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike is enjoying a season in which she leads the Cardinal in both scoring (15.8 ppg) and field-goal percentage (57.0) while ranking second in rebounding (7.7 rpg). This year she has combined with younger sister Chiney and Kayla Pedersen to grab 638 of Stanford's current total of 1,284 rebounds.

One of the most versatile and reliable players in the nation, Pedersen demonstrated those qualities by being the only player on the Cardinal squad to rank in the team's top three in scoring (12.9 ppg - third), rebounding (8.0 rpg - first), assists (3.18 apg - third), steals (1.07 spg - third) and blocked shots (0.68 bpg - second). Heading into the postseason, she is only 51 rebounds back of Jayne Appel's Stanford and Pac-10 record of 1,263 career rebounds.

VanDerveer, the recipient of the newly renamed John R. Wooden Pac-10 Coach of the Year award, Tuesday, guided the Cardinal to the program's 20th Pac-10 regular season title, and 11th in a row in 2010-11. Stanford finished a perfect 18-0 in Pac-10 play for the second straight year and sixth time overall.