Oct. 7, 2009

DENVER, Colo. -

UNLV was picked to finish seventh in the Mountain West Conference 2009-10 preseason women's basketball poll, which was released along with the preseason all-conference team on Wednesday morning at the MWC Basketball Media Day held at The Mtn. Studios in Denver, Colo. The voting panel consisted of the league's nine head coaches and select women's basketball media.

San Diego State was tabbed as the preseason favorite after sharing the 2008-09 MWC regular-season title and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs received 25 first-place votes and 240 total points. TCU collected three first-place votes and finished second with 216 points, followed by Utah with 185 points. New Mexico (168 points) placed fourth, followed by Wyoming (121 points), BYU (109 points), UNLV (97 points), Colorado State (57 points) and Air Force (31 points).

The Lady Rebels were also picked to finish seventh in the 2008-09 preseason poll, and posted a seventh-place regular season finish with a 5-11 league record, though the team did record consecutive upsets in the conference tournament to reach the MWC semifinals. UNLV would finish last season with a 14-18 mark, a six-game win improvement over the previous season.

UNLV lost five seniors to graduation, including third-team all-conference center Shamela Hampton. The Lady Rebels do return last year's Freshman of the Year in forward Jamie Smith, and a total of three of the top four scorers from last year.

Last year's all-MWC first-team member, San Diego State senior guard Jené Morris, earned Preseason Player of the Year honors, while teammate Jessika Bradley was named Preseason Newcomer of the Year. Utah's Taryn Wicijowski was tabbed Preseason Freshman of the Year. Four of the nine MWC teams were represented on the all-conference team, including three seniors and two juniors. Morris is a two-time all-MWC selection and earned WBCA State Farm Honorable Mention All-American accolades last season. She is joined on the preseason all-MWC team by teammate Paris Johnson, New Mexico's Amy Beggin, TCU's Helena Sverrisdottir and Utah's Kalee Whipple.

UNLV will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 at Southern Utah, while the team's home opener will come against Nebraska on Sunday, Nov. 15.

PRESEASON ALL-MWC TEAM PLAYER PROFILES

Amy Beggin, Sr., G, New Mexico
Two-time all-MWC selection, including a second-team member in 2008-09...An MWC all-Defensive Team selection last season...Led the Lobos in scoring, averaging 15.4 ppg, and ranked first in assists (3.8 apg)...Ranked 13th in the country in free-throw percentage (87.3 pct.) and 26th in assist/turnover ratio (1.87)...Ranks 11th all-time in scoring at UNM with 1,063 career points...Scored in double-digits in 34 contests last season, including a streak of 19 in the middle of the season...Scored 20+ points in seven outings.

Paris Johnson, Jr., C, San Diego State
First-Team all-MWC in 2008-09...Led the Aztecs in rebounds (8.3 rpg), field-goal percentage (53.1 pct.) and blocked shots (94 blocks), while ranking second in scoring (13.6 ppg) last season...Ranked first in the MWC for the second consecutive year in blocked shots, while ranking 11th nationally...Her 94 blocks are an SDSU single-season record and stand second in MWC history...Scored in double-figures in 22 games and earned nine double-doubles in 2008-09.

Jené Morris, Sr., G, San Diego State
A 2009 WBCA State Farm Honorable Mention All-American...Also named the MWC Defensive Player of the Year, as well as an all-MWC First-Team selection last season...Led the MWC in steals in each of the last two seasons, ranking seventh nationally in 2008-09 with 3.3 steals per game...Set the MWC single-season record with 100 takeaways as a junior...Scored 30+ points in three contests, while leading her team in scoring in 17 games...scored in double-figures in 24 games for the Aztecs, while leading the team in scoring with 16.1 ppg.

Helena Sverrisdottir, Jr., G/F, TCU
A unanimous First-Team all-MWC selection in 2008-09...First TCU player to average at least 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the same season...Only MWC player to be ranked among the top seven in the league in scoring (4th), rebounds (6th), assists (2nd) and steals (7th)...Scored in double-figures in 26 games last season, including seven 20+ point outings...Recorded nine double-doubles in 2008-09, including two with double-digit assists and points...One of only three MWC student-athletes to record at least 10 assists in a game last season.

Kalee Whipple, Sr., F, Utah
Three-time all-MWC honoree, including a unanimous First-Team selection last season...Ranked second in the league in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game...Amassed three 30+-point scoring games in 2008-09, while netting in double-figures in 31 of her 33 games...Currently holds a 17-game double-figure scoring streak...Leads all MWC active players with 1,389 career points...Let the Utes in scoring 12 times and rebounding six times last year...Recorded 72 steals on the season (2.2 spg), ranking fourth in the MWC.