Allison & Boogie selected All-SEC

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- LSU senior guard Allison Hightower was a unanimous choice on the 2010 Coaches All-Southeastern Conference first team, while also earning a spot on the All-Defensive Team as the league office announced its postseason women's basketball awards on Tuesday.

Sophomore forward LaSondra Barrett was voted onto the All-SEC Second Team. Hightower was one of three unanimous choices on the first team, joining Kentucky's Victoria Dunlap and Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund.

"It's just an honor to be named to the team that has so many great players," Hightower said. "It's an honor to be up there with the best. It shows if you keep working hard day after day, great things happen. That's the mindset I take to practice."

Hightower has been the Lady Tigers most valuable player the past two seasons. She leads the team in points (18.3), 3-point field goal percentage (41.0), steals (2.1) and minutes played (32.0). The Arlington, Texas, native ranks second in the SEC in overall scoring and second in conference only scoring (19.6).

Hightower is the only player in the SEC to rank in the top six in scoring (second), 3-point field goal percentage (third) and steals (sixth). She owns 10 20-plus point games this season and has been LSU's leading scorer in 11 of its 16 conference games. Hightower is the 14th all-time leading scorer in LSU history with 1,455 points heading into the 2010 SEC Tournament.

Barrett has averaged 12.7 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game. She ranks eighth in the conference in league only games (15.1) and seventh in rebounding (7.5). Barrett, the 2009 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, owns a team-best five double-doubles on the year.

LSU, the No. 4 seed, will play the winner of No. 12 seed Arkansas and No. 5 seed Vanderbilt at 5:30 p.m. CST Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Duluth, Ga.

Read the entire release at: http://bit.ly/c8WbqS

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Meek a guest blogger at Slam Magazine

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BEN YORK AT SLAM MAGAZINE:
I sincerely feel that Temeka Johnson is one of the kindest human beings you'll ever meet, and I don't think you’ll hear an argument from anyone on that assessment. In addition to being a leader on the court, she is equally as dedicated to giving back to the community. In fact, I was fortunate enough to be invited to her “Night of HOPE” event this past August where her dedication truly shined through. Being new to Phoenix, this was an opportunity for Meek to receive guidance and recommendations on how to best help the Phoenix community. There aren’t many athletes who would hold such an event, and her passion for improving the lives of others was unmistakable. In her first guest post, Meek talks about her whirlwind 2009, her offseason in France, and her thoughts on the future.

Read Meek's first blog entry at: http://bit.ly/c92fWS

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Allison takes the PMAC floor one final time

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From an article written by Scott Hotard at The Advocate:


When he stands at midcourt before today’s game against Mississippi State, LSU women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor will celebrate the career of only one senior.

So happens, the one senior is the heart and soul that drives his team.

The one senior is LSU’s leading scorer, best defender and hardest worker.

The one senior is Allison Hightower, LSU’s stabilizing force during an era of transition.

For all those reasons, Senior Day finds Chancellor torn.


On one hand, Chancellor looks forward to the opportunity of honoring Hightower’s legacy. On the other, he dreads the reminder of life at LSU without her.

She is getting more help than last season, when she ranked first on the team in six categories. But while continuing to anchor the SEC’s best defense, she has lifted her scoring average from 14.9 points as a junior.

“I’m not sure this is the proper wording,” said Bob Starkey, a longtime LSU assistant, “but in a way, she saved our program. She was the constant during a difficult time. She is, in my mind, one of the five most influential people to ever play here.”

Through the coaching change and — one season later — the birth of the program’s most significant rebuilding effort in years, Hightower continued her business as LSU’s brightest rising star.

“It’s been everything I wanted in a school,” Hightower said. “The fan base and all of the support is great. I believe in the coaches. A lot of people go to school as a great player, but they never improve. I can honestly say I’ve improved in my time here.”

Read the entire article by Scott Hotard of The Advocate at: http://bit.ly/cHh0ue

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Vote for Allison for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- LSU senior guard Allison Hightower is one of 10 national finalists for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for NCAA women's basketball, which recognizes excellence both on and off the court. Fans can vote online now at: http://bit.ly/boeX6p.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.

Nationwide balloting concludes March 22 to determine the winner. Fan balloting will be available on the award's official Web site http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/womens_basketball_2009/as well as through text messaging. Fans can text W7 to 74567 to vote for Hightower. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 women's candidates who were announced in October.


"It's an honor to be considered a finalist for such a great award because it also takes into account what you do in the community and in school and not just on the court," Hightower said. "We've always been proud of what we do in the community as Lady Tigers. To have the fans involved in the voting is great because they are the ones who see us not only out on the court but in school visits and community service projects."

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LSU signee McKinney overcomes adversity to lead her team to victory

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For a big victory, LeFlore relied on the biggest player on the court.

Shanece McKinney -- the Rattlers' 6-foot-4 center and an LSU signee -- racked up 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots to lead No. 3 LeFlore to a 52-40 victory over Carroll-Ozark Wednesday in the Class 5A girls South Regional.

"She's been here before," Rattlers coach Darrell Walton said of McKinney. "She knew what it was going to take. She stepped up and played basketball."

After the game, McKinney learned that her maternal grandmother died early Wednesday, leading her to decline interviews.

McKinney, who missed eight games with a knee injury this season, put a scare into Walton and her teammates early in the second half when she grabbed her knee after falling to the floor while saving an errant pass from careening out of bounds. She remained on the floor while trainers evaluated her leg, but she walked to the bench and re-entered the game after less than a minute had run off the clock.
...
She quickly blocked a shot and scored after leaping to catch a lob -- two plays that showed her knee was fine.

Read the entire story: http://bit.ly/9DDrQK

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Patrick Wright and Lady Tiger Radio Show; A Basketball Tradition

PATRICK WRIGHT (2-15-10):
Besides calling each game on the radio, another fun part of working for the Lady Tigers is hosting Coach Chancellor’s radio show on Tuesday nights from 7-8 at Walk-On’s in Baton Rouge. Along with breaking down the previous games and previewing upcoming games, the show gives Coach Chancellor and me a chance to interact with some of the loyal Lady Tiger fans who come to see the show in person or who call in. Coach always brings by t-shirts to give away to audience members and there is always a segment where the fans can come up to the microphone and ask questions about Lady Tiger basketball. And there is usually a surprise or two that nobody is expecting…

What makes the show fun is that it is very “busy”. There is a lot going on. I sometimes wonder how we get it all done in just 1 hour! Aside from discussing the games, each week we have a player as our guest for a couple of segments and we have at least one segment where the audience members are invited to come up to the microphone to ask questions. Also, we frequently have other “special” guests to discuss some aspect of Lady Tiger basketball. As you can see in a couple of the pictures, Temeka Johnson stopped by for one show to talk about what she has been up to and about her HOPE foundation. Other special guests have included Tom Harlukowicz from LSU’s Marketing and Promotions Department and a pair of principals from schools in Baton Rouge who have “adopted” Katherine Graham and LaSondra Barrett as part of the GPA program.

This is the 12th season that we have done a coach’s show for radio and the 5th straight year that we have done the show from Walk-On’s. Before taking the show “on the road”, the show used to originate from the studio on the 5th floor of the athletic administration building.

Unfortunately, we didn’t start doing the shows from Walk-On’s until after Coach Gunter retired, but I know she would have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the fans in the live audience setting. However, even with the show in the studio, Coach Gunter and I spent many hours talking basketball and I, along with all the listeners, learned a lot from hearing her discuss the sport.

For any blog readers out there who have not been to Walk-On’s to see the show live, make plans to come by between now and the end of the season! You are guaranteed to have a good time and enjoy a good meal, all in one sitting!

 

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Allison a finalist for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- LSU senior guard Allison Hightower has been named one of 10 national finalists for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for NCAA women's basketball, which recognizes excellence both on and off the court, it was announced Wednesday afternoon.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.

Nationwide balloting begins immediately and concludes March 22 to determine the winner. Fan balloting will be available on the award's official Web site, www.seniorCLASSaward.com, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text WBBALL to 74567 to vote for women's finalists.

These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 women's candidates who were announced in October.

"It's an honor to be considered a finalist for such a great award because it also takes into account what you do in the community and in school and not just on the court," Hightower said. "We've always been proud of what we do in the community as Lady Tigers. To have the fans involved in the voting is great because they are the ones who see us not only out on the court but in school visits and community service projects."

Read Bill Martin's entire article at: http://bit.ly/aAodTE

VOTE FOR ALLISON EACH DAY AT:

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Seimone Addresses Media About Jersey Retirement

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BATON ROUGE -- LSU women's basketball legend Seimone Augustus addressed members of the media at a press luncheon on Wednesday at Walk-On's Bistreaux. Augustus, a former two-time National Player of the Year, spoke about the significance of becoming the first female athlete in LSU Athletics history to have her jersey retired.

Augustus was joined by LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva and LSU women's basketball head coach Van Chancellor. The Baton Rouge native becomes the ninth individual to have his/her jersey retired in the 117-year history of LSU Athletics.

Augustus' senior season was 2006, but the LSU Athletic Council unanimously waived the five-year waiting period a student-athlete must normally have to be nominated after completing intercollegiate competition.

The official jersey retirement will take place prior to the LSU-Tennessee game on Sunday in the Maravich Center. Augustus' jersey will forever hang from the rafters in the Maravich Center, joining the likes of legends Pete Maravich, Shaquille O'Neal and Bob Pettit. The ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m. CST. No. 18 LSU takes on No. 3 Tennessee at 5 p.m. CST .

On the signature moments of her collegiate career...
"My high point was coming here, just making the decision not to go to Tennessee and coming here and staying home. Being able to play for a respected coach like Coach (Sue) Gunter and to be able to play with some of the girls that I grew up playing against like Temeka Johnson, Roneeka and Doneeka Hodges, and DeTrina White, we all kind of grew up together and just to be able to have that opportunity to play with them for four years was a great feeling to me. To come here and able to make my hometown proud, to be able to make this state proud, to be able to make my family proud was also a big point. Once I got here, the way everything blew up, I just didn't expect it. I just wanted to come here, make a positive impact, and take a program that was on the brink of elite status and help them become one of the top teams in the country as far as basketball is concerned. It blew up way further than I expected. The Final Four appearances, the SEC Tournament titles, the SEC regular season titles, and just to be able to have that rivalry with Tennessee, that was the biggest things for us, to beat the Lady Vols. It's so many things. I don't think I could single out one experience as being over the others. That first Final Four was the biggest because it started the momentum for us to continue to reach many more Final Fours, but my experience here was a great one. It was a great ride."

On what her emotions will be during the ceremony...
"I really don't know. I'm trying to hold myself together right now just thinking about it. Just to know that you've done so much for a community and for your state, and that it's being paid back with the highest regards, to have your jersey hung, it means a lot. Just to think about it, it makes you want to cry. A lot of my supporters have been calling and want tickets to the game. They're going to be there. I'm more excited for them because they put forth a lot of effort to help me from when I was five years old to right now, just to help me get through college and giving me motivation and being my backbone and being my supporters."

To see the video of the press conference as well as the entire transcript go to: http://bit.ly/6m0xpJ

 

 

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Hightower is leaving her mark

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Nice article on Allison Hightower from the Daily Comet written by Dave Moorman:

It has been Allison Hightower’s misfortune to have followed in the footsteps of Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles.

It’s hard enough following one legend. Look how difficult it was for former LSU men’s basketball coach John Brady to escape the specter of predecessor Dale Brown. Brady never really could do it, and he lost his job trying.

But having to succeed two legends?

Really, now, Hightower deserves better than that. Worse yet, Hightower plays guard, as did Augustus, who recently had her jersey retired by LSU, made the Sports Illustrated Women’s Basketball All-Decade Team, as announced by SI.com, and earned Female Athlete of the Decade accolades from the Times-Picayune of New Orleans.

Throw in the past, and present, accomplishments of the 6-foot-6 Fowles, and the 5-11 Hightower certainly has public relations-image issues.

Then again, LSU women’s basketball coach Van Chancellor is quick to laud Hightower, and when Chancellor speaks, people take notice. Chancellor is only one coach removed from the legendary Sue Gunter, who was so instrumental in building both women’s basketball, in general, and the LSU program, in particular.

Chancellor, though, is a major force in his own right, and he wants to make sure that Hightower gets her just do.

“There’s no doubt in my mind she’s one of the best players in the country,” Chancellor said. “She brings so much to the table and is a leader on and off of the floor for the Lady Tigers. Her work ethic and attitude have been outstanding her entire career. She’s the face of our team.”

Just as Augustus and Fowles were WNBA first-round draft picks after their highly successful LSU careers, Hightower will be an early selection, as well.

“She can easily be a first-team member of the Big East because of the way she plays,” said Angel McCoughtry, who was a No. 1 draft pick out of Louisville after last season. “She’s first team anywhere. She’s an all-around great basketball player by the way she plays.”

The professional ranks can wait, though. For the time being, Hightower continually proves why she is one of the best women’s college basketball players in America.

She’s won Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors twice this season and is only one of two SEC players named to the midseason top 21 list for the John R. Wooden Award that the Los Angeles Athletic Club gives to the National Player of the Year.

She already was named preseason All-American and SEC Player of the Year and to the Wade Trophy watch list for national player of the year according to Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

“There’s no one in our league like her,” Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Matt Bollant said last season after his Horizon League team fell to LSU in an NCAA Tournament first-round game. “She’s special.”

That she is. Through 15 games, with all but two ending in victory, Hightower ranked fifth in the SEC with a 16.3 scoring average.

She was third in steals with average of 2.6 per game and led LSU with 15 3-pointers.

With seven regular-season games left in her career, she still has a chance to dazzle those who haven’t yet been privy to her slashing moves and deft touch.

Hightower and the Lady Tigers begin a three-game home stretch with South Carolina on Thursday and continue it with what is sure to be a highly charged game against Tennessee next Sunday.

Hightower is certain to make her presence felt whether it’s through scoring, hustling, leadership or a combination of all that and more. She means every bit as much to the Lady Tigers as Augustus and Fowles ever did.

At long last, Hightower is getting the recognition she so richly deserves.

Dave Moormann has covered LSU since 1980 and lives in Denham Springs just outside of Baton Rouge.

Just as Augustus and Fowles were WNBA first-round draft picks after their highly successful LSU careers, Hightower will be an early selection, as well.

“She can easily be a first-team member of the Big East because of the way she plays,” said Angel McCoughtry, who was a No. 1 draft pick out of Louisville after last season. “She’s first team anywhere. She’s an all-around great basketball player by the way she plays.”


Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/62QV5B

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Lady Tiger signee shares bond with mother on and off the court

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The following was written by Casey Gisclair of the Twi-ParishTimes.com on Lady Tiger signee Theresa Plaisance.


DoBee Plaisance and her daughter Theresa face a unique balancing act every day.

On one hand, the two share a close, mother-daughter bond that is typical of most parents raising a teenage daughter.

"We're very, very close," said DoBee Plaisance. "We have a very special relationship."

But on the other hand, there is basketball. Mother Plaisance is the head basketball coach at Nicholls State, and Theresa is a standout post player at Vandebilt Catholic High School who is headed to LSU to continue her playing career following high school graduation.

That shared love for the sport sometimes causes the elder Plaisance to play the role she calls "Coach Mom", where she has to balance the loving support of being a mother and the critical eye of being a coach.

"She's always going to be the first one to tell me I did a good job," said Theresa Plaisance. "But she will definitely also be the first one to tell me when I'm doing something wrong and correct me. It's sometimes difficult, but I know she loves me and just wants what's best for me."


Read the entire article at: http://bit.ly/4Cnngh

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