Release from the Southeastern Conference office: Birmingham, Ala. — Tennessee was predicted to win the 2011 Southeastern Conference women’s basketball championship in a voting of a select panel of both SEC and national media members.
The Tennessee women’s basketball team returns an intact squad after going 32-3 and winning both the 2010 SEC regular season and tournament championships last year. They earned 15-of-17 first-place votes.
Tennessee tops the order of finish with 202 points, with Kentucky (183), Vanderbilt (157), Georgia (150), LSU (147) and Auburn (120) rounding out the top half of the league. South Carolina (84), Arkansas (81), Alabama (65), and Ole Miss (47) were next with Mississippi State (45) and Florida (45) tied for last place.
Kentucky’s Victoria Dunlap was the overwhelming choice of the media for SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year with 13 votes, the remaining votes were for Tennessee’s Angie Bjorklund and Shekinna Stricklen. Dunlap, a senior forward, led Kentucky in almost every statistical category, averaging 18.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season. She was named 2010 SEC Player of the Year for her efforts.
Joining Dunlap on the All-SEC First Team are LSU’s LaSondra Barrett; Tennessee’s Angie Bjorklund and Shekinna Stricklen; and Vanderbilt’s Jence Rhoads. Second team consists of Alabama’s Tierney Jenkins; Auburn’s Alli Smalley; Georgia’s Porsha Phillips; Kentucky’s A’dia Mathies and Tennessee’s Kelley Cain.
Points were compiled on a 12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for one team as an overall conference champion and a five-player All-SEC Team.
The 2010-11 SEC Media Preseason Poll tips off SEC Basketball Media Days, October 21 at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama. The SEC Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll will be released on Thursday, Oct. 28. Preseason Media Poll(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
SEC Champion: Tennessee (15), Kentucky (1), Auburn (1)
Player of the Year: Victoria Dunlap,?Kentucky (13), Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee (2), Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee (2)
Order of Finish1. Tennessee 2022. Kentucky 1833. Vanderbilt 1574. Georgia 1505. LSU 1476. Auburn 1207. South Carolina 848. Arkansas 819. Alabama 6510. Ole Miss 4711. Mississippi State 4511. Florida 45
First TeamLaSondra Barrett, LSUVictoria Dunlap, KentuckyAngie Bjorklund, TennesseeShekinna Stricklen, TennesseeJence Rhoads, Vanderbilt
Second TeamTierney Jenkins, AlabamaAlli Smalley, AuburnPorsha Phillips, GeorgiaA’dia Mathies, KentuckyKelley Cain, Tennessee
