Jan. 29, 2009
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Junior forward Rachele Fitz (Seven Hills, Ohio) of the Marist women's basketball team was named to the Women's John R. Wooden Award 2009 Midseason Top 20, it was announced Thursday evening by the Los Angeles Athletic Club's Women's Wooden Award Committee.
"She's having a very good year, and it's being recognized at the national level," Marist Head Coach Brian Giorgis said. "We're ecstatic for her."
The national ballot for the five-member All-American team and Wooden Award honor will be released in March and will consist of approximately 15 players. The 2009 Award Ceremony will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club the weekend of April 12-13.
Fitz currently has scored 1,587 points in her career, putting her in a tie for first place with Ursula Winter on the program's all-time career scoring list. This season, Fitz is averaging 20.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. She is shooting .588 from the field and .806 from the free-throw line. Fitz is ranked in the top 100 in the country in field-goal percentage (10th), points per game (11th), rebounds per game (49th) and free-throw percentage (95th).
The Marist women's basketball team will return to action on Friday, when the Red Foxes host Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe Manhattan at the McCann Center at 7:30 p.m. The team will participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association "Pink Zone" initiative to raise awareness for breast cancer, and will wear pink uniforms.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
2009 Wooden Award Midseason Top 20
Jayne Appel, F/C, Jr., Stanford
Chante Black, F/C, Sr., Duke
DeWanna Bonner, G, Sr., Auburn
Jessica Breland, F, Jr., North Carolina
Tina Charles, C, Jr., Connecticut
Krista Cirone, G, Sr., Illinois State
Alysha Clark, F, Jr., Middle Tennessee State
Rachele Fitz, F, Jr., Marist
Jantel Lavender, C, So., Ohio State
Shalee Lehning, G, Sr., Kansas State
Angel McCoughtry, F, Sr., Louisville
Renee Montgomery, G, Sr., Connecticut
Maya Moore, F, So., Connecticut
Courtney Paris, C, Sr., Oklahoma
Epiphanny Prince, G, Jr., Rutgers
Andrea Riley, G, Jr., Oklahoma State
Kristi Toliver, G., Sr., Maryland
Ashley Walker, F, Sr., California
Monica Wright, G, Jr., Virginia
Shavonte Zellous, G, Sr. Pittsburgh
