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 Senior Yoneko Allen has been named to the Academic All-America third team after making the All-District III team three straight years. |
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March 9, 2004
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina women's basketball senior Yoneko Allen has been selected to the Academic All-America third team it was announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) after gracing the All-District III team for three straight years. She becomes the second WCU women's basketball player to receive the honor as Lori Lyons was selected to the list in 1992. Allen joins Catamount football graduate Jason Whaley, who was named to the prestigious team earlier this year.
In order to be eligible for Academic All-America honors, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), must be a starter or an important reserve and be in at least their second season of athletic and academic eligibility at their current school. Candidates are selected based on their academic and athletic achievements as well as their community involvement.
"Yoneko is a very dedicated student," head coach Beth Dunkenberger praised. "It's nice to see her efforts in the classroom recognized in addition to what she has accomplished on the court."
Allen, a Gray Court, S.C., native, currently holds a 3.98 GPA as a triple major in Sport Management, Marketing and Business Administration & Law and has been named to the Dean's List the past seven consecutive semesters. For her academic efforts, Allen has twice been named WCU's Scholar Athlete of the Year, a two-time Arthur Ashe, Jr., Scholar Athlete, a two-time TIAA-CREF Academic All-SoCon member, a TIAA-CREF Student-Athlete of the Week in 2003 and has made the SoCon and WCU Honor Rolls each year.
The 5-8 guard just recently wrapped up her Catamount career at Western with a trip to the Southern Conference championship game in Charleston, S.C. It was the first time in the program's history that WCU had won more than one tournament game and the first time the Cats had made it to the championship game. Allen started all but one contest in her three years on the squad after transferring from Clemson University. She has certainly made her mark on WCU women's basketball history as she owns five single-season and career records, including career 3-point field goals made (180) and 3-point field goals attempted (542). The three-year captain also appears on Western's career and single-season lists nine other times.
Allen led the team and finished atop the Southern Conference in 3-pointers per game at 2.17. She also finished 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (.322) and 20th in overall scoring at 9.8 points per contest. Allen led the Cats in scoring in four games this season.
A leader in the local community as well as in her hometown in South Carolina, Allen has been the co-director and coordinator for the Laurens Amateur Association in Laurens, S.C., as well as assisted in planning community service projects for her church back home. She also began a clothing ministry at her church to provide clothes for the needy. In the local area, Allen has been involved in several service projects with her teammates and her sorority such as trash pickup, clothing drives, canned food drives, serving food at the local Community Table, raising money for cancer research, promoting breast cancer awareness and tutoring/mentoring local grade school students.
Allen has been a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma sorority, the Alpha Kappa Psi Business Honor Society and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Business Fraternity. She has also served on the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award Committee, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Faculty and Athletics Committee.
2004 Academic All-America Women's Basketball/University Division Teams
FIRST TEAM Name School Dist. Year Hometown GPA Major Kate Endress Ball State V Jr. Evansville, IN 3.93 Entrepeneurship Laurie Koehn Kansas State VII Jr. Hesston, KS 3.966 Elementary Education Kelly Mazzante Penn State II Sr. Montoursville, PA 3.49 Advertising Hana Peljto Harvard I Sr. Brooklyn Park, MN 3.58 Psychology Stefanie Wenzel Bowling Green IV Sr. Sussex, WI 3.97 Integrated Language ArtsSECOND TEAM Courtney Davidson Navy II Sr. New Oxford, PA 3.71 Political Science Colleen Day Miami, OH IV Sr. Independence, OH 3.84 Secondary Education Kathleen Nygaard Eastern Washington VIII Sr. Adna, WA 3.704 Marketing Nicole Ohlde Kansas State VII Sr. Clay Center, KS 3.631 Elementary Education Beth Swink St. Francis, PA II Jr. Connellsville, PA 3.72 Biology
THIRD TEAM Yoneko Allen Western Carolina III Sr. Gray Court, SC 3.986 Business Admin. & Law Jamie Carey Texas VI Jr. Thornton, CO 3.56 Sociology/Social Work Caton Hill Oklahoma VI Sr. Ada, OK 3.63 Zoology/Pre-Med Lindsay Shearer Kent State IV So. Minerva, OH 4.00 Integrated Mathematics Lindsay Thomas Colorado State VII So. Sioux Falls, SD 4.00 English & Spanish
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