October 18, 2005
Texas A&M sophomore forward Morenike Atunrase was named to the Honorable Mention Preseason All-Big 12 Team in a vote of the league's head coaches announced Tuesday.
Atunrase, from Shreveport, La., was the consensus Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season as she led the Aggies in scoring and set a school record for blocks in a season.
She was an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection following last season.
The Big 12 names five players to its preseason team and Atunrase is one of 10 players to receive honorable mention.
Last week, the Aggies were selected No. 7 by the league's head coaches in the preseason rankings. It marked the highest ranking for the Aggies in the Big 12 era.
The league's coaches have never tabbed the Aggies above No. 10
A&M coach Gary Blair enters his third season at the helm and returns four of his five starters from last year's team that reached the quarterfinals of the WNIT. It marked the first postseason appearance and first winning season for A&M since 1996.
Blair lost two players, Charlette Castile and Mindy Garrison, from last year's team. He added six players that as a class were ranked No. 20 in the nation. It was the third best recruiting class in the conference.
A&M is paced by Atunrase and other returning starters: sophomore point guard A'Quonesia Franklin, senior guard Erica Roy, and senior forward Tamea Scales.