March 8, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Junior guard Charel Allen (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) has been chosen as one of 52 finalists for the Kodak/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America Team, it was announced Thursday by the WBCA and the Eastman Kodak Company. With Allen’s selection (the first of her career), Notre Dame now has had at least one Kodak/WBCA All-America Team finalist in 10 of the past 12 seasons, with Ruth Riley (2001) and Jacqueline Batteast (2005) earning a place on the prestigious 10-player Kodak/WBCA All-America Team.
Allen was a first-team all-BIG EAST honoree this season after doubling her scoring average to 17.0 points per game, good for seventh in the conference. She also ranked among the top 10 in the league in free throw percentage (third – .841) and steals (eighth – 2.0 spg.), while scoring in double figures 27 times in 30 games (including 10 20-point outings and a career-high 31 points vs. St. John’s on Jan. 16). Allen was even stronger during BIG EAST play, ranking second in the loop in scoring (19.3 ppg.), fourth in free throw percentage (.862), tying for 13th in steals (1.75 spg.) and tying for 14th in rebounding (7.0 rpg.). The 5-foot-11 wing also recently became Notre Dame’s 23rd 1,000-point scorer, eclipsing that mark in the regular-season finale at DePaul, and now standing 22nd in school history with 1,019 career points.
Allen was one of nine finalists selected from the WBCA’s Region 1, which includes schools from the BIG EAST, America East, Atlantic 10 and Northeast conferences, as well as the Ivy Group and Patriot League. Eight of this year’s nine Region 1 picks were from the BIG EAST, with Connecticut (Tina Charles and Renee Montgomery) and Rutgers (Essence Carson and Kia Vaughn) landing two players each. South Florida’s Jessica Dickson, Angel McCoughtry of Louisville and Marcedes Walker of Pittsburgh were the other BIG EAST representatives, with Temple’s Kamesha Hairston rounding out the regional choices.
The 2007 Kodak/WBCA All-America Team will be announced March 31 at 9:45 a.m. (ET) during a press conference at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The balance of the 52 finalists who are not chosen for this year’s Kodak/WBCA All-America Team will be designated as honorable mention All-Americans.
Notre Dame (19-11), which finished tied for fifth place in the BIG EAST this season with a 10-6 conference record, will learn its postseason fate on Monday at 8 p.m. (ET) when the 64-team field for the 2007 NCAA Championship is unveiled live on ESPN. The Irish have made 11 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (and 13 overall), advancing to the Sweet 16 on six occasions, the Final Four twice (1997 and 2001) and winning the ’01 NCAA national championship.
— ND —