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Feb. 28, 2005
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Santa Clara women's basketball senior guard Quinn Thomas was named a First Team All-West Coast Conference honoree for the second straight season, the league office announced this morning. Redshirt junior guards Michelle Cozad and Kayla Huss were named to the honorable mention team, and guard Chandice Cronk received recognition to the All-Freshman squad.
Gonzaga's Shannon Mathews was named Player of the Year, while Bulldog leader Kelly Graves was named the league's Coach of the Year. San Francisco's Toni Russell was named Defender of the Year and Don Dominique Carter received Newcomer of the Year honors.
Thomas is a native of Kent, Wash., and is the heart and soul of the Bronco squad. Despite missing six league contests due to injury, she averaged 14.5 points to lead the team, which ranks fifth in WCC listings. She leads the league in three-point field goals made (2.7), is third in steals (2.1), and sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.368). Additionally, she is the only guard in the top 15 in rebounding, listed 11th with a 5.0 average. Two weeks ago, Thomas became only the 14th player in Bronco history to reach 1,000 career points and currently has 1,054. She opened conference play with the team's first double-double of the season, netting 11 points and 11 rebounds at Gonzaga, and then followed with five treys at Portland en route to 21 points. Last week, she had a 17-point, 7-rebound, 6-steal night against San Francisco.
Cozad averages 12 points per game, which is ranked ninth in the WCC listings, and has led the team in scoring on seven occasions, posting double figures in scoring 16 times. She is ranked second in free throw percentage (.828), third in three-point field goal percentage (.421) and fifth in three-point field goals made (1.7). The Stockton native netted 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench against Saint Mary's and followed with a 24-point performance against Pepperdine. Her season high came at San Francisco, as she poured in 20 second-half points to finish with 27. She is one of two Broncos to net a double-double this season, after a 16-point, 10-rebound performance against Gonzaga. Just last week, Cozad came off the Bench for 21 points in an overtime victory against the Dons.
Huss is a point guard from Everett, Wash., and is ranked fifth in the league in assists (3.2) and third in assist/turnover radio (1.3). She has started on 16 occasions. She averaged more than eight points during the conference season and hit the game-winning three against both San Jose State and Loyola Marymount in the final seconds of regulation. She netted 14-point performances on the road at both Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount just two weeks ago.
Cronk is a freshman out of Wasilla, Alaska. She has started 23 contests and averages more than six points per outing. Cronk's career high came at Portland, just missing a double-double after netting 16 points and adding nine rebounds. At Saint Mary's on Jan. 12, she scored the first eight points of the game, including three treys, and finished with15 points.
The Broncos will host the 14th annual WCC Women's Basketball Championship at the Leavey Center this weekend, and open against San Francisco on Thursday at 6 p.m. The WCC will use the traditional No. 1 seed vs. No. 8 seed format, and all eight WCC schools will play on the first day of the tournament. Play will resume with the semifinals on March 5 at noon and 2 p.m. and the championship game on March 6 at 1 p.m.
Remaining single-session tickets went on sale this morning. A women's single session pass is $12. Students and Youths will be admitted to a single session for only $5, and students of WCC institutions can watch a single game for $5.
