Pac-12 coaches awards

The Conference's 12 coaches awards look like this:

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown

Jazmine Davis Washington G Fr. San Jose, Calif.
Layshia Clarendon California G Jr. San Bernardino, Calif.
Ashley Corral*** USC G Sr. Vancouver, Wash.
Rebekah Gardner UCLA G Sr. Upland, Calif.
Briana Gilbreath**** USC G Sr. Katy, Texas
Chucky Jeffery Colorado G Jr. Colorado Spring, Colo.
Amanda Johnson Oregon F Sr. Santa Rosa, Calif.
Toni Kokenis Stanford G So. Oak Brook, Ill.
Earlysia Marchbanks Oregon State G Sr. Salem, Ore.
Nnemkadi Ogwumike*** Stanford F Sr. Cypress, Texas
Chiney Ogwumike** Stanford F So. Cypress, Texas
Regina Rogers Washington C R-Sr. Seattle, Wash.
Markel Walker UCLA G/F Jr. Philadelphia, Pa.
Davellyn Whyte*** Arizona G Jr. Phoenix, Ariz.
Taryn Wicijowski Utah F R-So. Regina, Saskatchewan

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Name School Pos. Hometown

Brittany Boyd California G Berkeley, Calif.
Ariya Crook USC F Los Angeles, Calif.
Jazmine Davis Washington G San Jose, Calif.
Ali Gibson Oregon State G Woodridge, Calif.
Reshanda Gray California F Los Angeles, Calif.

Coach of the Year: Tara VanDerveer

Player of the Year: Nnemkaki Ogwumike

Powerade Fab 50: week 13

This week's rankings are much the same, but Windward drops like a stone, and out of the top 10, after a playoff loss last week:

1. Saint Mary's
2. McEachern
3. Whitney Young
4. Bolingbrook
5. Riverdale
6. Clarksville
7. Riverdale Baptist
8. Hoover
9. Mater Dei
10. La Jolla Country Day

USA Today/ESPN poll: some big changes

This week's poll sees Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Purdue taking huge jumps, while Gonzaga and St. Bonaventure both dip. For once, no one dropped out or in:

1. Baylor
2. Stanford
3. Notre Dame
4. Connecticut
5. Maryland
6. Duke
7. Tennessee
8. Delaware
9. Miami
10. Wisconsin-Green Bay
11. Kentucky
12. Penn State
13. Georgia Tech
14. Texas A&M
15 (tie). Georgetown and Purdue
17. Ohio State
18. Georgia
19. Louisville
20. Rutgers
21. St. John's
22. Nebraska
23. DePaul
24. Gonzaga
25. St. Bonaventure

Big East and SEC tournament pictures

Thanks to a couple of great women, we have some really dope pictures from yesterday's action at both the Big East Tournament in Hartford, Conn. and the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

Queenie's got the Big East gallery.

Kim Hersh has the SEC gallery.

Outstanding work.

Tis the season

Today's tournament results:

BYU dethroned Gonzaga for the West Coast Conference crown.

Dayton University defeated St. Bonaventure to win the A-10 title.

Marist smashed Fairfield for their seventh consecutive MAAC 'ship.

College news:

On campus with Delaware's Elena Delle Donne. ESPN has a retro video of Delle Donne.

George Washington University released coach Mike Bozeman. The assistant coaches got the boot, too.

More conference and media awards:

Pac-12 media awards (conference awards will be announced tomorrow):

Coach of the Year: Scott Rueck, Oregon State

2012 Pac-12 Media All-Pac-12:

Gennifer Brandon, CAL; Layshia Clarendon, CAL; Ashley Corral, USC; Rebekah Gardner, UCLA; Briana Gilbreath, USC; Chucky Jeffery, COLO; Toni Kokenis, STAN; Earlysia Machbanks, OSU; Michelle Plouffe, UTAH; Chiney Ogwumike, STAN; Nnemkadi Ogwumike, STAN; Regina Rogers, WASH; Markel Walker, UCLA; Davellyn Whyte, ARIZ; Taryn Wicijowski, UTAH.

2012 Pac-12 Media All-Freshman Team (six members because of a tie for the fifth spot):

Brittany Boyd, CAL; Jazmine Davis, WASH; Ali Gibson, OSU; Reshanda Gray, CAL; Lexy Kresl, COLO; Amber Orrange, STAN.

2012 Media All-Defensive Team:

Kali Bennett, ASU; Patricia Bright, OSU; Briana Gilbreath, USC; Nnemkadi Ogwumike, STAN; Jazmine Perkins, WSU.

Mountain West Conference honors...lotta San Diego State in there:

First-Team All-Mountain West

Name, Team Cl. Pos. Ht. Team

Courtney Clements Jr. G 6-0 San Diego State
Chelsea Hopkins Jr. G 5-8 San Diego State
Kim Mestdagh Sr. G/F 5-10 Colorado State
Caroline Durbin Jr. G 6-0 New Mexico
Natalie Ventress Fr. G 5-11 TCU
Lenita Sanford Sr. F/C 6-3 UNLV

COY: Beth Burns, San Diego State

High school:

Class of 2013 #1 ranked Mercedes Russell is leading her Springfield, Ore. team back into the state playoffs this week.

Big 12, C-USA awards

Big 12 awards:

2011-12 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Awards

Freshman of the Year: Liz Donohoe, Oklahoma State
Coach of the Year: Kim Mulkey, Baylor
All-Defensive Team: See Below
Sixth Man Award: Sharane Campbell, Oklahoma
Defensive Player of the Year: Brittney Griner, Baylor

C-USA Awards:

All-C-USA First Team

Roxana Button, Sr., G, Houston
Jasmine Lee, RS-Sr., P, Memphis
Jessica Kuster, So., F, Rice
Jamierra Faulkner, So., PG, Southern Miss
Olivia Grayson, Jr., G, Tulane
Taleya Mayberry, Jr., G, Tulsa
Aisha Patrick, Sr., G, UCF
Gloria Brown, Sr., F, UTEP

Big West Conference teams announced

CSUN's Jason Flowers is Big West Coach of the Year. Here are the other awards:

2011-12 Big West Player of the Year
Kristina Santiago, Cal Poly

2011-12 Big West Freshman of the Year
Janae Sharpe, Cal State Northridge

FIRST TEAM

Player School Year Position Hometown

Kristina Santiago Cal Poly Senior Forward Santa Maria, Calif.
Jasmine Erving Cal State Northridge Senior Center Huntington Beach, Calif.
Kassandra McCalister UC Irvine Senior Guard Sunnyvale, Calif.
Megan Richardson Cal State Fullerton Senior Guard Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Kendall Rodriguez Pacific Junior Guard La Habra Calif.
Samantha Meggison UC Davis Senior Guard Orange, Calif.

SECOND TEAM

Player School Year Position Hometown

Tipesa Moorer Long Beach State Senior Forward Harbor City, Calif.
Tre’Shonti Nottingham UC Riverside Junior Guard Moreno Valley, Calif.
Emilie Johnson UC Santa Barbara Senior Guard Loomis, Calif.
Janae Sharpe Cal State Northridge Freshman Guard Rialto, Calif.
Kayla Griffin Cal Poly Junior Guard Fremont Calif.

Bonus:

Pac-12 Tournament bracket is out.

Waiting for the awards to be announced.................

30 years later, it might be Kim Mulkey again

Baylor has been ranked #1 all year long and are undefeated. If they win the National Championship next month, it would be 30 years since their coach, Kim Mulkey, helped Louisiana Tech win the very first NCAA women's title.

Mulkey recently answered some questions for me on the title, her coaching philosophies and how she got to be the dynamic leader that she is. Take a look:

Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey wants her players to experience what she accomplished as a player.

Personally, the 1982 Tournament shaped who I am today, and it's why I wanted to talk to Mulkey about it.

My dad had taken me to Oregon Duck games for a while, and 1981-1982 was All-American forward Bev Smith's senior year. I remember how they honored her on senior night, complete with banners to the rafters. People were sitting up there, too, because back then Eugene was a track and basketball town.

The Ducks were invited to the first NCAA Tournament, and the first round was at home, so dad and I went. But unfortunately, they lost to Missouri, 53-59. I kept the picture from the newspaper of Smith sitting on the bench, her face buried in her hands, for a long, long time.

Yet, that March 13, 1982 loss inspired me. The next morning, which was a Sunday, I went running - for real - for the first time. I was in junior high and had tried several different sports, but none with any real commitment. Those basketball players inspired me to take athletics on for real; they got me excited about it. Little girls need big girls, of course.

I watched the first Final Four (even then, Tennessee was getting hype), and the first championship game Sunday, March 28. I remember Mulkey's passionate play vividly, and I was hypnotized by the entire game. I don't think I got up from my chair once.

Thirty years later, I am still an athlete. I've never wavered; it became who I am. And I owe it to those pioneering ballers who showed me both the possibilities, and what strong women look like.

They also inadvertently birthed a lifelong hoop head, and for that I am eternally grateful, as well.

I wanted to express my appreciation to all the women who played basketball in the 1970's and 1980's, when there was no pro league to go to next. Even Kim Mulkey may not realize how important they were to many of us.

California state playoff brackets are out

Ah, brackets.

I can stare at them for hours.

Girls are pages 6-10. Action begins Wednesday.

Some champs

SEC:

Tennessee won their third consecutive SEC Championship today, 70-58, behind Glory Johnson's 20 points and 11 rebounds. LSU put up a great fight, especially considering senior forward LaSondra Barrett was taken out of the game on a stretcher in the second half. LSU just tweeted seconds ago that Barrett has been diagnosed with a concussion and has full mobility in all her limbs.

Pat Summitt is still the boss.

Post-game interviews.

Big Ten:

It took two overtimes, but Purdue overcame Nebraska for the Big Ten title, 74-70.

ACC:

Maryland bested Georgia Tech for the ACC crown.

Big East:

St. John's took down Louisville to reach the tournament semifinals.

Notre Dame beat DePaul in the quarters.

Big upsetters West Virginia did it again in a low-scoring game, defeating Georgetown.

Currently UConn is thrashing Rutgers.

And Stanford is slapping Cal.

Bonus:

Musings on which assistant coaches are ready to become head coaches.