LINCOLN Nebraska junior Kelsey Griffin captured first-team All-Big 12 honors for the second straight season when the conference office announced the league award winners on Friday. The all-conference teams were voted on by the Big 12 coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players.
Griffin, a 6-foot-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, claimed first-team honors after ranking among the top 10 players in the Big 12 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and free throw percentage during the 16-game league season. Griffin averaged 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 75.2 percent from the free throw line. She produced by double-doubles in conference action and scored 20 or more points in four of Nebraska's final nine regular-season games.
The two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection ranks 11th in Husker history in points (1,292), 10th in rebounds (644) and eighth in blocked shots (66). She is also a two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 honoree.
Nebraska's lone senior, Danielle Page, joined Griffin on the all-league team by claiming her first honorable-mention All-Big 12 award. In her first season as a starter, Page averaged 12.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game while starting all 30 contests. The 6-2 forward from Monument, Colo., helped lead the Huskers to a 20-10 regular-season mark and a 9-7 Big 12 record.
A three-time academic All-Big 12 selection, Page is also one of the best shot-blockers in school history, ranking No. 2 all-time at NU with 198 blocks. This season, she has tied a nearly 30-year-old school record by notching 69 blocks. She owns Nebraska's junior and senior single-season block records and also NU's single-game record with nine blocks last season in a win over Baylor.
Sophomore Yvonne Turner gave Nebraska three all-league honorees for the second straight season by earning a spot on the conference's All-Defensive Team. The 5-8 guard from Omaha led the Big 12 in league play with 2.6 steals per game, while also ranking third among the Huskers in scoring (9.8 ppg). She also tied for the team lead in assists, while knocking down 24-of-61 three-point field goals in league action.
Griffin, Page and Turner will lead the Huskers to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., next week. Nebraska, which earned the No. 6 seed in the 12-team tournament, will face 11th-seeded Kansas on Tuesday, March 11, at 8:30 p.m.
The game will be televised live in Lincoln on MyTV. All other Nebraska games in the tournament will be televised live nationally by FSN.
All-Big 12 Awards
Coach of the Year: Deb Patterson, Kansas State
Player of the Year: Courtney Paris, Oklahoma
Newcomer of the Year: Dominic Seals, Texas Tech
Freshman of the Year: Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma
Defensive Player of the Year: Courtney Paris, Oklahoma
Sixth Man Award: Morenike Atunrase, Texas A&M
First Team
Rachel Allison, Baylor; Angela Tisdale, Baylor; Jackie McFarland, Colorado; Kimberly Dietz, Kansas State; Shalee Lehning, Kansas State; Kelsey Griffin, Nebraska; Courtney Paris, Oklahoma; Andrea Riley, Oklahoma State; Danielle Gant, Texas A&M; Takia Starks, Texas A&M.
Second Team
Alison Lacey, Iowa State; Marlies Gipson, Kansas State; Brittainey Raven, Texas; A'Quonesia Franklin, Texas A&M; Dominic Seals, Texas Tech.
Honorable Mention
Jessica Morrow, Jhasmin Player, Baylor; Brittany Spears, Colorado; Danielle McCray, Kansas; Alyssa Hollins, Missouri; Danielle Page, Nebraska; Ashley Paris, Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma; Danielle Green, Maria Cordero, Taylor Hardeman, Oklahoma State; Carla Cortijo, Ashley Lindsey.
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