Women's Basketball Team Celebrates At Year-end Banquet
April 11, 2002
SEATTLE, Wash. ? Senior Heather Reichmann (Seattle, Wash.) was honored with the Coaches' Award for all-around contribution to the team, on the court and off, at the annual Husky women's basketball awards banquet at the Don James Center on the University of Washington campus Thursday night. Reichmann, the lone senior on the 2002 team, was also recognized as the 101 Club's Outstanding Scholar-Athlete and the Tyee Sports Council Community Service award winner.
Reichmann helped lead the Huskies to a record of 19-12 overall and a 12-6 Pacific-10 Conference mark, good for second place in the league. Washington advanced to the third round of the WNIT, meeting North Texas, Southern California and Oregon in postseason play.
Sophomore point guard Giuliana Mendiola (Lake Forest, Calif.), an All-Pac-10 First Team selection, earned the Big Dawg award for the second year in a row. The honor is a result of a season-long tally for on-court performance. Mendiola finished the year as the second-leading scorer on the team, averaging 12.5 points per game while pulling down 5.5 rebounds.
Mendiola was also named the Lion's Club Assist Leader for the second year in a row. She passed out a team-high 152 assists, a mark that was fourth-highest in the Pac-10 and third-highest ever by a Husky player in one season. She maintained a sterling assist-turnover ratio, at 2.08, that was second-best in the conference.
Capping her on-court achievements, Mendiola was chosen as Most Inspirational by her teammates.
Two Huskies received the KOMO Radio Outstanding Defensive Player award, junior captain Cheryl Sorenson (Milwaukie, Ore.) and freshman starting guard Kristen O'Neill (Seattle, Wash.). Sorenson, a versatile guard/forward, played in 30 of 32 games this season, with four starts. O'Neill, who moved into the starting lineup during the non-conference season, highlighted her defensive efforts by finishing second in the Pac-10 in three-point field goal percentage.
Redshirt freshman Sarah Keeler (Pendleton, Ore.) was honored as the Most Improved Player. After sitting out the 2001 season following knee surgery, the 6-foot-4 center/forward became a crucial player in the Huskies' success in 2002. She played in all but one game this year and tallied 20 blocks while averaging 4.4 points.
Washington women's basketball 2002 award-winners
Coaches Award ? Heather Reichmann
Big Dawg - Giuliana Mendiola
Tyee Sports Council Community Service ? Heather Reichmann
Lion's Club Assist Leader - Giuliana Mendiola
101 Club Outstanding Scholar ? Heather Reichmann
Most Improved Player ? Sarah Keeler
Most Inspirational Player ? Giuliana Mendiola
KOMO Radio Outstanding Defensive Player ? Kristen O'Neill and Cheryl
Sorenson
Team captains ? Heather Reichmann, Loree Payne, Cheryl Sorenson, Giuliana
Mendiola
