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News Release

Carlee Cassidy Earns WBCA National Player of the Month Honorable Mention

1/21/2008

Carlee Cassidy averaged 20.0 ppg in December.

ATLANTA—UMBC sophomore guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) earned honorable mention from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) for National Player of the Month for the month of December, the organization announced last week.

Cassidy received the America East’s nomination for the award, which was won by Stanford guard Candice Wiggins.

Cassidy averaged a league-best 20.0 points per game in six December contests, shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from 3-point range with 18 trifectas. She added 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Entering December, Cassidy’s scoring average was at a season-low 13.9 ppg, but she raised it nearly three full points during the month to 16.7 ppg. She never scored less than 15 points and posted three 20-plus performances, including both games of the Terrapin Classic, when she was named to the all-tournament team.

Cassidy earned America East Player of the Week honors twice in December, for her performances during the first and last week of the month. She currently leads the America East with 17.5 ppg and 2.47 three-pointers per game.

Cassidy is the second Retriever to earn honorable mention Player of the Month in the last three years, as Sharri Rohde garnered the accolade in February 2006.

En route to winning Player of the Month, Wiggins averaged 20.5 points and 3.2 assists in December, leading the Cardinal to a perfect 6-0 month. The Pac-10 leader in free throw percentage, she shot 79.1 percent from the charity stripe, while shooting 44.4 percent form the field and 42.5 percent from beyond the arc. Wiggins added 4.8 rebounds per games and 2.7 steals per game last month, as she earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors twice.

Players earning WBCA National Player of the Month Honorable Mention for December include: Carlee Cassidy, UMBC (America East); Ta'Shia Phillips, Xavier (Atlantic 10); Stefanie Murphy, Boston College (ACC); Danielle Gant, Texas A&M (Big 12); Angel McCoughtry, Louisville (Big East); Natalie Doma, Idaho State (Big Sky); Megan Frazee, Liberty (Big South); Jantel Lavender, Ohio State (Big Ten); Stephanie Duda, UC Irvine (Big West); Tamera Young, James Madison (Colonial Athletic); Kizzi Hart, Marshall (Conference USA); Robyn Fairbanks, Utah Valley (Independent); Caitlin Flood, Manhattan College (Metro Atlantic); Amanda Jackson, Miami (OH) University (Mid-American); Josylne Jackson, Florida A&M (Mid-Eastern); Jasmine Gibson, Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley); Leilani Mitchell, Utah (Mountain West); Ashley Hayes, Murray State (Ohio Valley); Vanessa Van De Venter, Lafayette (Patriot League); Lauren Ervin, Arkansas (SEC); Alex Anderson, Univ. of Tenn.-Chattanooga (Southern); Candace Thomas, Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic); Jernisha Cann, IUPUI (Summit League); Crystal Kelly, Western Kentucky (Sun Belt); Dominique Carter, San Francisco (West Coast); Dellena Criner, Nevada (Western Athletic).