March 25, 2010
ATLANTA - Texas A&M's Danielle Adams (Kansas City, Mo.) was one of 40 NCAA Division I finalists for the prestigious 2010 State Farm Coaches' All-America Basketball Team as announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on Thursday.
Adams, a 6-foot-1 junior combination forward/center, was honored as Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year as well as the Most Outstanding Player leading the ninth-ranked Aggies to the 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship title in her hometown of Kansas City and the program's fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and third consecutive No. 2 seed in this year's Sacramento Regional.
She becomes the first A&M women's basketball player to ever be named a finalist for the State Farm All-America Team. Former player Lisa Branch (1993-96) was an honorable mention selection in 1996 as well as Takia Starks (2006-09) and Danielle Gant (2006-09) in 2008 and 2009.
One of the rising stars in the country, the All-Big 12 Second Team selection averaged a team-leading 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Adams became only the second A&M player in school history and 10th all-time player in league history to register a triple-double with a career-high 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots against Texas Tech on Jan. 23 earning her a nod as Big 12 Player of the Week. She led the team in scoring on 17 occasions off the bench this season including three double-double performances and seven 20-point outings.
She was joined on the list by Iowa's Kachine Alexander, Stanford's Jayne Appel, Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee's Kelley Cain, Connecticut's Tina Charles, Middle Tennessee State's Alysha Clark, Delaware's Elena Delle Donne, Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins, Kentucky's Victoria Dunlap, James Madison's Dawn Evans, California's Alexis Gray-Lawson, Connecticut's Kalana Greene, Nebraska's Kelsey Griffin, Baylor's Brittney Griner, Xavier's Amber Harris, LSU's Allison Hightower, Iowa State's Alison Lacey, Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, Florida State's Jacinta Monroe, Connecticut's Maya Moore, San Diego State's Jené Morris, Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Xavier's Ta'Shia Phillips, Ohio State's Samantha Prahalis, Bowling Green's Lauren Prochaska, Mississippi State's Alexis Rack, Arkansas' Chastity Reed, Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley, Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson, Fresno State's Jaleesa Ross, Notre Dame's Lindsay Schrader, Illinois' Jenna Smith, Saint John's Da'Shena Stevens, Tennessee's Shekinna Stricklen, TCU's Helena Sverrisdottir, Duke's Jasmine Thomas, Mississippi's Bianca Thomas, Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot and Virginia's Monica Wright.
The 40 finalists, who are voted upon by WBCA-member coaches in each of the eight WBCA geographical regions, are now in the running for selection to the State Farm Coaches' All-America Team which will be announced on center court between open practices on Saturday, April 3 at 1:05 p.m. (CT) as a part of the NCAA Women's Final Four Super Saturday events held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.