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 Senior Jennifer Gardner was named to the first team All-SoCon by the media on Tuesday. |
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March 1, 2005
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina senior forward Jennifer Gardner received her second honor in two days from the league, honored today by the Southern Conference Sports Media Association by being named to its All-Conference first team. The selection is her third with the previous two selections coming on the second team.
Gardner (Norcross, Ga./Norcorss HS) was named to the All-Southern Conference team by the league's 11-head coaches on Monday, the second time in her career she had earned that status.
A three-time SoCon Player of the Week during the season -- the most by any player in the league -- Gardner led the Southern Conference in rebounding, averaging over nine boards per game. Her average jumped 9.7 when only figuring in conference match-ups. She additionally led the subsequent rebounding categories with an average of 3.85 offensive and 5.26 defensive rebounds per contest.
Gardner led the Lady Catamounts in scoring this season with an average of 12.0 points per game, to rank ninth in the SoCon. On the year, Gardner tallied a SoCon-leading 10 double-doubles to push her four-year career tally to 32. From the free throw line, she ranked fifth overall connecting on 79.7-percent of her attempts, an average that jumped to 82.6 in league play, fourth overall. To conclude the season, Gardner was successful on 65 of her last 77 attempts for 84.4-percent.
Entering this week's Kyocera Southern Conference Women's Basketball Championships, Gardner ranks fourth on the WCU Career Rebounding chart (841) and ninth on the All-time scoring list (1,252 points). She is only one of three WCU players to ever score over 1,000 points and board over 800 rebounds in a career. Gardner also stands as Western's career leader in free throws made (407) while ranking fifth in the attempts category, and ranks second in career free throw percentage at 78.6-percent.
The Lady Catamounts will enter the tournament as the sixth seed for the second-consecutive season, playing number 11 Wofford in the night cap on Wednesday, March 2 (approx. 7:30 pm). Last year, Western became the first team in SoCon history to play all four days since the tournament expanded in 1998 to make the school's first appearance in the championship game. WCU swept the Terriers during the regular season and has taken seven-in-a-row from Wofford since 2003.
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