March 4, 2005

DALLAS - A pair of Missouri women's basketball players, junior center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College) and sophomore forward Tiffany Brooks (Leavenworth, Kan. / Leavenworth HS / Kansas State), have earned all-conference recognition from the Big 12, as voted on by the league's coaches and announced by conference officials today.

Both N'Garsanet and Brooks earned Honorable Mention plaudits from the league, giving Missouri a pair of all-conference honorees for the ninth straight year. The honors are the first each for the pair.

Brooks enters next week's Big 12 Tournament as the Tigers' leading scorer, averaging 13.0 points per game. A mid-year transfer last season from Kansas State, the 5-foot-11 Brooks became eligible for Missouri at the conclusion of the fall semester. In just her fifth game in the Black and Gold, she erupted for 30 points against Nebraska on Jan. 8 - the highest scoring output in regulation for a Tiger since Evan Unrau, herself a two-time First Team All-Big 12 honoree, netted 30 against Southeast Louisiana in 2001.

N'Garsanet was perhaps Mizzou's most improved player from a year ago. After averaging 10 minutes a game last year, the 6-foot-3 N'Garsanet is averaging 12.2 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. She is second on the team in scoring, as well as assists (46) and steals (37), and she leads the Tigers in rebounds, as well as blocks (36).

The Tigers are continuing preparation for the 2005 Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. After an 11 a.m. practice session on Monday, ninth-seeded Missouri will open play Tuesday at noon against No. 8 seed Kansas. The winner of Tuesday's game will receive half a point for their school in the annual Border Showdown, presented by the Midwest Ford Dealers.

Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson was named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, while Kansas State senior Kendra Wecker was selected as Big 12 Player of the Year. Nebraska's Jelena Spiric was selected Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, while Texas A&M's Morenike Atunrase was Freshman of the Year.

2004-05 All-Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Team

First Team

Player, School Pos Ht Cl Hometown
Kendra Wecker, KSU F 5-11 Sr Marysville, Kan.
Sophia Young, BU F 6-1 Jr St. Vincent, West Indies
Tiffany Jackson, UT F 6-3 So Dallas, Texas
Dionnah Jackson, OU G 5-9 Sr St. Louis, Mo.
Anne O'Neal, ISU G 5-11 Sr Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Steffanie Blackmon, BU P 6-2 Sr Dallas, Texas
Erin Grant, TT G 5-8 Jr Arlington, Texas
Jamie Carey, UT G 5-6 Sr Thornton, Colo.
Cisti Greenwalt, TT C 6-5 Sr Clovis, N.M.
Kiera Hardy, NU G 5-6 So Kansas City, Mo.

Second Team

Player, School Pos Ht Cl Hometown
Leah Rush, OU F 6-1 So Amarillo, Texas
Katie Robinette, ISU F 6-2 Sr South Sioux City, Neb.
Laurie Koehn, KSU G 5-8 Sr Hesston, Kan.
Chesley Dabbs, TT G 6-0 Jr Plano, Texas
Heather Schreiber, UT F 6-2 Sr Windthorst, Texas

Honorable Mention
Veronica Johns-Richardson (Colorado), Crystal Kemp and Erica Hallman (Kansas), Megan Mahoney (Kansas State), Tiffany Brooks and Christelle N'Garsanet (Missouri), Jina Johansen (Nebraska), Nina Stone (Oklahoma State), Morenike Atunrase (Texas A&M), Alesha Robertson and LaToya Davis (Texas Tech)