Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. - University of Delaware freshman Elena Delle Donne, who most recently was named to the John R. Wooden Award ballot, has since garnered additional accolades. This week, the Wilmington, Del. native was awarded the Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, while also being named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association State Farm All-Region 2 Team.

Delle Donne, the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association Player and Rookie of the Year, was one of two league players named to the Region 2 team, as the 6-5 forward/guard was joined by James Madison’s Dawn Evans. They were among seven players named to the Region 2 team and among 52 players nation-wide selected to the eight all-region teams. The honorees are candidates for the State Farm All-America Team, and a selection committee will cut the list to 40 finalists on Tuesday, March 23. The 40 finalists will all be in the running for selection to the 10-member State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team.

The All-America Team will be announced on Saturday, April 3, at 1:05 p.m. CT as a part of the NCAA’s Super Saturday events in San Antonio, Texas.

Voted the Rookie of the Year, Delle Donne was one of five on the ECAC First Team. Tina Charles of Connecticut, named the ECAC Player of the Year, was joined by teammate Maya Moore, Virginia’s Monica Wright and Columbia’s Judie Lomax on the First Team. Evans, the CAA’s second honoree, was named to the Second Team.

The ECAC is the nation’s largest athletic conference and only multi-divisional conference, with approximately 300 member institutions and over 122,000 student-athletes ranging from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. The ECAC publicizes the achievements of over 750 student-athletes annually through the postseason all-stars. In men’s and women’s basketball, the ECAC names one Division I all-star team, one Division II all-star team, and four regional Division III all-star teams (New England, Upstate, Metro, and South).

AGATE:

WBCA State Farm All-Region Honorees:

Region 1
Ashley Barlow, Notre Dame, Sr., G, 5’9”
Tina Charles, Connecticut, Sr., C, 6’4”
Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame, Fr., G, 5’9”
Kalana Greene, Connecticut, Sr., G, 5’10”
Amber Harris, Xavier, Jr., F, 6’5”
Nicole Michael, Syracuse, Sr., F, 6’2”
Sarah Miles , West Virginia, Jr., G, 5’7”
Maya Moore, Connecticut, Jr., F, 6’0”
Ta’Shia Phillips, Xavier, Jr., C, 6’5”
Liz Repella, West Virginia, Jr., G, 5’11”
Lindsay Schrader, Notre Dame, Sr., G/F, 6’0”
Da’Shena Stevens, Saint John’s, Soph., F, 6’1”

Region 2
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware, Fr., F, 6’5”
Dawn Evans, James Madison, Jr., G, 5’7”
Shenise Johnson, Miami, Soph., G, 5’11”
Jacinta Monroe, Florida State, Sr., F, 6’5”
Carolyn Swords, Boston College, Jr., C, 6’6”
Jasmine Thomas, Duke, Jr., G, 5’8”
Monica Wright, Virginia, Sr., G, 5’11”

Region 3
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee, Jr., G, 6’0”
Kelley Cain, Tennessee, Soph., C, 6’6”
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky, Jr., F, 6’1”
Allison Hightower, Louisiana State, Sr., G, 5’10”
Alexis Rack, Mississippi State, Sr., G, 5’7”
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee, Soph., G, 6’2”
Bianca Thomas, Mississippi, Sr., G, 5’10”

Region 4
Chassity Brown, Tulane, Sr., G, 5’7”
Brittany Carter, Memphis, Soph., G, 5’9”
Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee State, Sr., F, 5’10”
Tanika Mays, Toledo, Sr., F, 6’0”
Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green State , Jr., G, 5’11”
Chastity Reed, Arkansas, Little Rock, Jr., F, 6’1”

Region 5
Danielle Adams, Texas A&M, Jr., C, 6’1”
Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska, Sr., G, 6’2”
Brittney Griner, Baylor, Fr., C, 6’8”
Alison Lacey, Iowa State, Sr., G, 6’0”
Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State, Sr., G, 5’5”
Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma, Jr., G, 5’9”
Tanisha Smith, Texas A&M, Sr., F, 6’0”

Region 6
Kachine Alexander, Iowa, Jr., G, 5’9”
Casey Garrison, Missouri State, Soph., G, 6’0”
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State, Jr., C, 6’4”
Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State, Soph., G, 5’7”
Jenna Smith, Illinois, Sr., F/C, 6’3”

Region 7
Jené Morris, San Diego State, Sr., G, 5’9”
Shanavia Dowdell, Louisiana Tech, Sr., F, 6’2”
Jaleesa Ross, Fresno State, Jr., G, 5’8”
Helena Sverrisdottir, Texas Christian, Jr., G/F, 6’1”

Region 8
Jayne Appel, Stanford, Sr., C, 6’4”
Alexis Gray-Lawson, California, Sr., G, 5’8”
Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Stanford, Soph., F, 6’2”
Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga, Jr., G, 5’8”

NOTE: In an effort to establish a fair number of candidates from each region, an equation to determine the number of regional nominees was formulated. The total number of Division I institutions in each region is divided by the total number of Division I institutions to get a percentage for each region. Multiply 52 (the total number of desired finalists) by the percentage to get a total number of finalists for each region. The 52 All-Region Team then go before the selection committee where the list is reduced to 40 finalists. These 40 finalists can come from any region. Per a motion passed by the WBCA Board of Directors in 2008, Region 1 will now have 12 finalists and Region 4 will have six finalists.

ECAC Division I All-Stars:

Player of the Year
Tina Charles, Connecticut

Rookie of the Year
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware

First Team
Tina Charles, Connecticut
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware
Monica Wright, Virginia
Judie Lomax, Columbia
Maya Moore, Connecticut

Second Team
Corin Adams, Morgan State
Dawn Evans, James Madison
Rachele Pitz, Marist
Jasmine Thomas, Duke
Diana Delva, Hartford

Third Team
Quanneisha Perry, Hampton
Sugar Rodgers, Georgetown
Chelsea Marandola, Providence
Michelle Kirk, American
Angela Pace, Robert Morris