Smith Receives Prestige, Shooting Awards at Banquet
4/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball program put a wrap on its 2003-04 season this evening (Thursday, April 15) with its annual awards banquet at the Polo Fields Golf and Country Club. Seven postseason team awards were handed out, with senior All-Big Ten first-team center Jennifer Smith (Lansing, Mich./DeWitt HS) taking home three honors, including the Prestige Award, after becoming the first player in Michigan history win the Big Ten scoring title, with a 21.3 average.
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Smith's career season under first-year head coach Cheryl Burnett also resulted in her collecting the awards for highest free throw percentage (.805) and field goal percentage (.477). Smith finished the season with single-season school records for points (659) and free throws made (210). Her 659 points scored list as the 12th-best total in Big Ten history, while she became just the third player in conference history to surpass 200 free throws made for a season.
Other award winners included Tabitha Pool (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) winning the Rebound Award, Kelly Helvey (Toledo, Ohio/Catholic Central HS) garnering the Hustle Award, Sierra Hauser-Price (Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame Prep) collecting the Scholar-Athlete Award and Stephanie Gandy (Detroit, Mich./Northern HS) earning the Defensive Player Award.
Pool finished her best season in a Michigan uniform as the team's leading rebounder (7.4), which placed the junior fourth among the Big Ten leaders. Michigan's second-leading scorer at 13.3 points, Pool finished third in the Big Ten with a team-best eight double-doubles, including a 33-point, 13-rebound effort in a win over Xavier (Dec. 21) to earn her second career Big Ten Player of the Week distinction.
Despite playing the sixth-most minutes (20.9) on the team this season, freshman guard-forward Helvey finished second in steals (39) and led the team in charges drawn to warrant the Hustle Award. Also one of the Wolverines' best passers, Helvey dished out a Michigan season-best eight assists against Michigan State (Feb. 12).
Hauser-Price earned Academic All-Big Ten honors this season after starting 29 of Michigan's 31 games from the point guard position and evolving into the team's best perimeter defender. A psychology major, Hauser-Price is enrolled in U-M's College of Literature, Science and the Arts.
A co-captain this season along with Smith, Gandy evolved into one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten, finishing the season with 37 steals and 19 blocks while often getting the call to check the opposing team's best offensive player. Gandy also finished with a career-best 11.6 scoring average and scored in double figures in 12 of the last 17 games.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
