Jennifer George, Deana Allen Honored with SEC WBB Coaches Awards
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 | Women's Basketball
The University of Florida's Jennifer George (Orlando, Fla.) was voted First Team All-Southeastern Conference and Deana Allen (Houma, La.) was honored as Co-6th Woman of the Year in the coaches postseason awards announced Wednesday.
George, a 6-foot junior forward, leads the Gators in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg), an effort that also is second in the SEC. She has posted 14 double-doubles (points and rebounds), a total that leads the league and ranks 11th nationally.
George, who leads the conference with 3.8 offensive rebounds per game, also ranks among the top-4 among all SEC competitors for blocked shots (third with 1.9 pg), defensive rebounds (third with 5.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (fourth with 51 percent), while ranking ninth for scoring.
“We've been so proud of Jennifer's level of consistency and that's what this award is about,” said UF head coach Amanda Butler who has tutored a Gator to four first team All-SEC honors in her five years with the program. “It's not about being a great player, it's being an impactful player each week. It's a player who opponents have to worry about and George has positioned herself to fit into that category. She's worked exceptionally hard, as have her position coaches, Coach Mock and Coach Page. They've made a big different in her level of play and level of confidence. Jennifer has definitely taken her role very, very seriously.”
George's recognition marks the 22nd time a Gator has been honored on the SEC's First Team and the first time since 2009 when Sha Brooks and Marshae Dotson both earned a spot on the coaches' first team.
Allen, a 5-foot- guard, has provided Florida with a definite spark off the bench in every game she's played this year, averaging 7.8 points (fifth on team) and 4.9 rebounds (third on team), with 1.5 steals (second on the team). She hits 31.3 percent from the three-point arc (the third-highest on the team) and 71.9 percent from the free throw line (highest percentage). The only game Allen has missed this year was the season-opener against Michigan when she sat out to recover from a concussion.
Allen did make her first start of the year on Jan. 8 against South Carolina, responding with nine points, a season-high 10 rebounds and a team-best three assists with a pair of steals. She followed that with another start and a 14-point, six-rebound, four-steal performance at Georgia.
“The 6th Woman of the Year award is really unique because, clearly if you're good enough to earn this award, you're good enough to be a starter,” Butler said. “Deana never once said, 'I want to be a starter coach.' She always says she wants to do whatever she can to help the team win. When we told her that it would be to come off the bench than she said she wanted to come off the bench. Her attitude is as much a part of her success in that role as is her athletic ability or her ability to score or her basketball skills.”
Allen is the second Gator ever to earn the SEC 6th Woman of the Year honor, joining Bernice Mosby, who collected the award in 2004, the first time the league presented the honor.
Kentucky's Keyla Snowden shared the 2012 award with Allen.
The Gators play Auburn on Thursday, March 1 in the first round of the SEC Tournament held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 pm ET/Noon CT and will be televised live by FSN, which airs on SunSports throughout the state of Florida. The radio broadcast of the game can be heard live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM 99.5 “The Star” and on 104.9-FM and in Jacksonville on AM930 WFXJ, with the audio also available via the internet at www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators. There will not be live video streaming of any games played in the first two days.
2012 SEC Women's Basketball Coaches Awards, complete list
First Team All-SEC
C'eira Ricketts, Arkansas
Jennifer George, Florida
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
A'dia Mathies, Kentucky
LaSondra Barrett, LSU
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee
Christina Foggie, Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Sarah Watkins, Arkansas
Jasmine Hassell, Georgia
La'Keisha Sutton, South Carolina
Jasmine Lister, Vanderbilt
Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt
Ieasia Walker, South Carolina
Markeshia Grant, South Carolina
Valencia McFarland, Ole Miss
Diamber Johnson, Mississippi State
All-Freshman Team
Calli Berna, Arkansas
Hasina Muhammad, Auburn
Erika Ford, Georgia
Bria Goss, Kentucky
Martha Alwal, Mississippi State
Aleighsa Welch, South Carolina
Ariel Massengale, Tennessee
Kady Schrann, Vanderbilt
All-Defensive Team
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
Porsha Porter, Mississippi State
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
A'dia Mathies, Kentucky
La'Keisha Sutton, South Carolina
Coach of the Year
Tom Collen, Arkansas
Player of the Year
A'dia Mathies, Kentucky
Freshman of the Year
Bria Goss, Kentucky
Defensive Player of the Year
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
6th Woman of the Year
Deana Allen, Florida
Keyla Snowden, Kentucky
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Blanche Alverson, Auburn
