Dotson & Brooks Named to Preseason SEC Teams, Gators Picked Sixth
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 | Women's Basketball
University of Florida women's basketball seniors Marshae Dotson (Columbus, Ohio) and Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) were selected to 2009 Preseason All-Southeastern Conference Teams, while the Gators were picked to finish sixth in the 12-team league standings in a voting of a select panel of both SEC and national media members.
Dotson, who was voted First-Team All-SEC by the league's coaches last year, is a preseason pick to repeat on the five-player First-Team in 2009. The 5-foot-11 forward enters the 2008-09 season with 1,082 career points and 634 career rebounds. In 2007-08, Dotson was UF's leading rebounder (262, 7.9 rpg), while ranking second for scoring (432, 13.1 ppg), also leading the Gators in field goal percentage (53.1%), free throws made (110) and free throws attempted (162), while ranking third in assists (54) and steals (57). In the 2007-08 SEC statistics for all games, she ranked No. 1 for offensive rebounding (3.42 pg), No. 10 for scoring, No. 8 for rebounding and No. 8 for free throw percentage.
Brooks, who was a 2009 Preseason Second-Team All-SEC selection, enters the 2008-09 season having started 91 consecutive games and 94 overall, starting all except one in her career, and has never missed a game. During her first three years, the 5-foot-7 guard has accumulated 1,295 career points and 164 three-pointers, while totaling 2,909 minutes of playing time (30.9 mpg). Last year, Brooks worked on her game and emerged as more of a complete player, averaging 12.3 points, logging 32.2 minutes per game and contributing a team-high 87 assists (2.6 apg), in addition to ranking second in steals (62) and made three-pointers (48). In the SEC statistics for all games, she ranked No. 13 for scoring, No. 2 for free throw percentage (79.8%, 103-129), No. 14 for steals, No. 13 for three-pointers made and No. 11 for minutes played. She also was UF's second-leading scorer in SEC games (12.9 ppg), while hitting 36.6 percent (26-71) from the three-point arc.
Under first-year head coach Amanda Butler, Florida finished the 2007-08 season tied for sixth in the final SEC team standings, posting a 19-14 overall record and a 6-8 mark in league action. The Gators won 10 more games than they did the previous season, tying the record for the greatest one-year turn-around in program history and exceeding preseason expectations that predicted an 11th-place result.
Vanderbilt was predicted to win the 2009 SEC women's basketball championship. The Commodores, who are coming off a 25-9 season with an 11-3 SEC record, earned 12 first-place votes, topping Tennessee, which earned nine votes and Georgia, which earned four votes as SEC Champion.
Vanderbilt tops the order of finish with 273 points, with Tennessee (261), Auburn (246), Georgia (216), LSU (183) and Florida (174) rounding out the top half of the league.
Kentucky comes in at seven with 129 votes. Ole Miss (126), Mississippi State (87), Arkansas (81), South Carolina (72) and Alabama (25) round out the bottom half of the conference.
Auburn senior DeWanna Bonner was the overwhelming choice of the media for SEC Women's Basketball Player of the Year with 24 votes, the remaining vote was for Vanderbilt's Christina Wirth.
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 2008-09 SEC Media Preseason Poll tips off SEC Basketball Media Days, October 23-24 at the Birmingham Marriott in Alabama.
| 2008-09 SEC Preseason Media Poll (First-Place Votes in Parentheses) | |
| 1. Vanderbilt (12) | 273 points |
| 2. Tennessee (9) | 261 points |
| 3. Auburn | 246 points |
| 4. Georgia (4) | 216 points |
| 5. LSU | 183 points |
| 6. Florida | 174 points |
| 7. Kentucky | 129 votes |
| 8. Ole Miss | 126 points |
| 9. Mississippi State | 87 points |
| 10. Arkansas | 81 points |
| 11. South Carolina | 72 points |
| 12. Alabama | 25 points |
Player of the Year: DeWanna Bonner, Auburn (24), Christina Wirth, Vanderbilt (1)
All-SEC First-Team
DeWanna Bonner, Auburn
Marshae Dotson, Florida
Ashley Houts, Georgia
Shawn Goff, Ole Miss
Christina Wirth, Vanderbilt
All-SEC Second-Team
Whitney Boddie, Auburn
Sha Brooks, Florida
Angel Robinson, Georgia
Allison Hightower, LSU
Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee
-UF-
