UF's Sha Brooks Named National Finalist for Coaches' All-America Basketball Team
Friday, March 27, 2009 | Women's Basketball
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), in cooperation with State Farm, announced that the University of Florida's Sha Brooks (Jackson, Tenn.) is among the finalists for the 2009 State Farm Coaches' All-America Basketball Team for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I.
The 40 finalists, who are voted upon by WBCA-member coaches in each of the eight WBCA geographical regions, are now in the running for selection to the 10-member State Farm Coaches' All-America Team. Brooks was among the 58 regional finalists and made the cut to the national list.
Brooks capped a stellar four-year career as a 2009 First-Team All-Southeastern Conference selection by the league's media and coaches, who made her a unanimous pick.
During the 2008-09 season, she led Florida in scoring (16.4 ppg), assists (4.66), free throws made (135) and free throws attempted (171), while ranking second for steals (1.63) and made 3-pointers (48).
During the 14 SEC slate this year, Brooks averaged 19.7 points (No. 2 in SEC), 5.71 assists (T-No. 2 in SEC), 2.00 steals (No. 5 in SEC), while shooting 40.8 percent (29-71) from the 3-point arc (No. 3 in SEC) and 77.5 percent free throws (No. 8 in SEC) and totaling seven 20-plus point performances.
Brooks, who appeared in all 126 games during her career, capped her Gator tenure as the school's all-time leader for consecutive starts (122), made free throws (423), free throws attempted (550) and games started (125).
She also ranks in program history No. 5 for scoring (1,820), No. 2 for minutes played (3,882), No. 3 for steals (242), No. 3 for three-pointers (212), tied-for No. 4 for games played (126), No. 5 for free throw percentage (78.2%) and No. 9 for assists (365).
Florida's senior point guard led the Gators to one of the most successful seasons in program history, culminated by the team's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2006 and its first showing in the second round since 2004. With Brooks directing the Gator offense, Florida compiled a program-record 15-game winning streak, earned its first top-10 national ranking since the 2001 season and tied the program record with 24 victories.
The finalists are:
| Name | Institution | Year | Pos. | Height |
| Jayne Appel | Stanford Univ. | Jr. | C | 6'4 |
| Chante Black | Duke Univ. | Sr. | C | 6'5 |
| Whitney Boddie | Auburn Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'9 |
| DeWanna Bonner | Auburn Univ. | Sr. | G | 6'4 |
| Sha Brooks | Univ. of Florida | Sr. | G | 5'8 |
| Tina Charles | Univ. of Connecticut | Jr. | C | 6'4 |
| Kristi Cirone | Illinois State Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'8 |
| Alysha Clark | Middle Tennessee St. Univ. | Jr. | F | 5'10 |
| Marissa Coleman | Univ. of Maryland | Sr. | G/F | 6'1 |
| Siarre Evans | East Tennessee State Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'11 |
| Danielle Gant | Texas A&M Univ. | Sr. | G/F | 5'11 |
| Allison Hightower | Louisiana State Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'11 |
| Ashley Houts | Univ. of Georgia | Jr. | G | 5'6 |
| Briann January | Arizona State Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'8 |
| Jantel Lavender | Ohio State Univ. | Soph. | C | 6'4 |
| Shalee Lehning | Kansas State Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'9 |
| Lyndra Littles | Univ. of Virginia | Sr. | G/F | 6'1 |
| Rashanda McCants | Univ. of North Carolina | Sr. | G/F | 6'1 |
| Angel McCoughtry | Univ. of Louisville | Sr. | F | 6'1 |
| Danielle McCray | Univ. of Kansas | Jr. | G | 5'11 |
| Renee Montgomery | Univ. of Connecticut | Sr. | G | 5'7 |
| Maya Moore | Univ. of Connecticut | Soph. | F | 6'0 |
| Jen? Morris | San Diego State Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'9 |
| Deirdre Naughton | DePaul Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'10 |
| Courtney Paris | Univ. of Oklahoma | Sr. | C | 6'4 |
| Ta'Shia Phillips | Xavier Univ. | Soph. | C | 6'6 |
| Rachel Porath | Univ. of Wis., Green Bay | Sr. | G | 5'10 |
| Epiphanny Prince | Rutgers Univ. | Jr. | G | 5'9 |
| Takia Starks | Texas A&M Univ. | Sr. | G | 5'8 |
| Kristi Toliver | Univ. of Maryland | Sr. | G | 5'7 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | Gonzaga Univ. | Soph. | G | 5'8 |
| Kia Vaughn | Rutgers Univ. | Sr. | C | 6'4 |
| Ashley Walker | Univ. of California, Berkeley | Sr. | F | 6'0 |
| Morgan Warburton | Univ. of Utah | Sr. | G | 5'11 |
| Natasha Williams | DePaul Univ. | Sr. | F | 6'3 |
| Danielle Wilson | Baylor Univ. | Jr. | C | 6'3 |
| Christina Wirth | Vanderbilt Univ. | Sr. | F | 6'1 |
| Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton | Purdue Univ. | Sr. | F | 6'2 |
| Monica Wright | Univ. of Virginia | Jr. | G | 5'11 |
| Shavonte Zellous | Univ. of Pittsburgh | Sr. | G | 5'11 |
The State Farm Coaches' All-America Basketball Team for NCAA Division I will be announced at the State Farm Coaches' All-America Team Press Conference on April 4, at 9:45 a.m. CT in St. Louis, Mo.
About State Farm
State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve more than 78 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 2 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.
About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. For additional information about the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.
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