Aggies' Atunrase Named to Pre-Season All-Big 12 Team

Texas A&M’s Morenike Atunrase (Shreveport, La.) was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Conference Team in a vote by the league’s head coaches today.

The 5-foot-10 junior guard/forward is one of the nation’s and league’s top returning players heading into the 2006-07 season. An All-American candidate, Aturnase ranks third all-time in blocked shots (115) at A&M and holds the school single-season record in the same category (58).

Last season, she averaged a team-leading 14.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.8 blocks per game and led the Aggies to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996. She finished fourth in the Big 12 in steals (61), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (38.8) and sixth in blocked shots (58) through all games played in 2005-06.

Atunrase, one of five returning starters for A&M, was joined on the preseason all-conference honors list by Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris, Iowa State’s Lyndsey Medders, Nebraska’s Kiera Hardy and Texas’ Tiffany Jackson. All five were All-Big 12 First Team selections a year ago.

2006-07 Big 12 Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Big 12 Honors
(coaches not allowed to vote for own players)

Preseason Player of the Year -- Courtney Paris (Oklahoma).

Preseason Newcomer of the Year -- Bernice Mosby (Baylor).

Preseason Freshman of the Year -- Brittainey Raven (Texas).

Preseason All-Big 12 Team
G - Lyndsey Medders (Iowa State)
G - Kiera Hardy (Nebraska)
C - Courtney Paris (Oklahoma)
F - Tiffany Jackson (Texas)
F - Morenike Atunrase (Texas A&M)