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Utah's Leilani Mitchell was selected as the Mountain West Conference women's basketball Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year for 2007-08 as chosen by the head coaches, the MWC announced Monday. Freshman of the Year honors went to TCU's Helena Sverrisdottir, while Wyoming's Hanna Zavecz was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in her career. Utah's Elaine Elliott, who guided the Utes to their sixth MWC title, earned her fourth Coach of the Year honor.
Mitchell, a senior guard, helped the Utes to a perfect 16-0 conference record and their sixth MWC regular-season title. She led the league in assists (7.75 ppg), and was second in steals (2.56 spg) and fourth in scoring (16.4 ppg) during the conference slate.
Ten seniors, two juniors and four sophomores make up this year's all-MWC team. Ten all-conference picks were repeat selections. Eight of the nine institutions were represented, as Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico each had three players honored on the team. TCU and UNLV had two players apiece.
Five different institutions were honored on this year's first team. Joining Mitchell on the all-MWC first-team was unanimous selection Morgan Warburton of Utah and Hanna Zavecz of Wyoming. Zavecz was named a first-team allconference member for the third consecutive year, while Warburton has been selected two years in a row. Sequoia Holmes of UNLV earned her second straight all-conference honor, while New Mexico's Dionne Marsh also garnered accolades, collecting her fourth all-MWC selection.
Four second-team honorees this year earned all-league honors for the second consecutive year. Adrianne Ross of TCU, Mallary Gillespie-Carling of BYU, Kalee Whipple of Utah and Wyoming's Justyna Podziemska all received second-team accolades after being all-MWC selections last season. Sophomore Jene Morris of San Diego State was also honored on the second-team after competing in just her first year in the league.
Air Force's Alecia Steele earned her third straight third-team honor, while UNLV's Shamela Hampton was honored on the third-team for the second consecutive year. Lorie Butler-Rayford of TCU, Brandi Kimble of New Mexico, and a pair of sophomores, Wyoming's Aubrey Vandiver and New Mexico's Amy Beggin, each made their first appearance on the all-conference list.
2007-08 All-Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Team
Player School Year Height Position
First Team All-Mountain West Conference #Leilani Mitchell Utah Sr. 5-5 G #*Morgan Warburton Utah Jr. 5-11 G ***Hanna Zavecz Wyoming Sr. 6-0 F *Sequoia Holmes UNLV Sr. 6-1 F ***Dionne Marsh New Mexico Sr. 6-1 F
Second Team All-Mountain West Conference *Kalee Whipple Utah So. 6-0 F Jene Morris San Diego State So. 5-9 G **Adrianne Ross TCU Sr. 5-8 G *Mallary Gillespie-Carling BYU Sr. 5-10 G *Justyna Podziemska Wyoming Sr. 6-2 F
Third Team All-Mountain West Conference Lorie Butler-Rayford TCU Sr. 5-11 F **Alecia Steele Air Force Sr. 6-0 F Brandi Kimble New Mexico Sr. 5-8 G Aubrey Vandiver Wyoming So. 5-11 G Amy Beggin New Mexico So. 5-6 G *Shamela Hampton UNLV Jr. 6-3 C
Honorable Mention All-Mountain West Conference Helena Sverrisdottir TCU Fr. 6-2 F Sara Hunter Colorado State Sr. 5-6 G Jodi Bolerjack Wyoming Sr. 5-9 G Allison Duffy San Diego State Fr. 6-2 F Paris Johnson San Diego State Fr. 6-4 C Lauren Riley-Varley BYU Sr. 6-3 C Pamela Findlay Air Force Sr. 5-11 G
* notes repeat all-conference selection ** notes three-time all-conference selection *** notes four-time all-conference selection # notes unanimous first-team selection
Player of the Year: Leilani Mitchell, Utah Newcomer of the Year: Leilani Mitchell, Utah Freshman of the Year: Helena Sverrisdottir, TCU Defensive Player of the Year: Hanna Zavecz, Wyoming Coach of the Year: Elaine Elliott, Utah
