Feb. 26, 2007

San Bruno, CA- Saint Mary's sophomore guard Jontelle Smith (Pinole, CA) and Maija Lahde (Espoo, Finland) garnered All West Coast Conference accolades as announced by the conference office today. Smith was named to the first-team while Lahde garnered honorable mention accolades.

For Smith and Lahde it marks the second consecutive season that the duo earned all-conference status. Smith was named to the all-freshman and honorable mention squads while Lahde joined Smith on the honorable mention list.

Smith led the Gaels in scoring overall and in conference play. The sophomore tallied 11.9 points over the course of the season and paced SMC with 12.4 points during conference play.

The Pinole native was second during WCC games in three point field goal percentage with a .431 mark. Smith was third in three point field goals made with 28. Smith poured in 20 points at Pepperdine with four threes on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor.

Maija Lahde garnered honorable mention accolades.

Lahde put together her best season as a Gael. The Finland native averaged 10 points and 6.9 rebounds per game overall and 8.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per conference game. The 7.9 rebounds led the team and ranked third in the conference.

The junior recorded two double-double in conference play, including a 10 point, 16 rebound performance against Portland. The 16 rebounds was a career-high and followed a 15 board performance the game before.

Saint Mary's earned the fourth seed and will face Pepperdine in the opening round of the West Coast Conference Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 30 minutes after the conclusion of LMU vs. Santa Clara which is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the Chiles Center.

CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR
Kelly Graves, Gonzaga
Cindy Fisher, San Diego

CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Stephanie Hawk, Gonzaga
6-3 • Senior • Forward
Amanda Rego, San Diego
5-10 • Junior • Guard

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Amanda DeCoud, LMU
5-7 • Junior • Guard

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Heather Bowman, Gonzaga
6-2 • Freshman • Forward

2007 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Heather Bowman, GON - 6-2 - F - FR - Spokane, WA
Dominique Carter**, USF - 5-11 - G - JR - Tracy, CA
Chandice Cronk, SCU - 5-10 - G - SR - Wasilla, AK
Laiken Dollente, POR - 5-8 - G - FR - Yakima, WA
Stephanie Hawk*, GON - 6-3 - F - SR - Ontario, OR
Amanda Patton, LMU - 5-9 - G - SR - Valencia, CA
Amanda Rego, USD - 5-10 - G - JR - San Diego, CA
Jontelle Smith, SMC - 5-5 - G - SO - Pinole, CA
Amber Sprague, USD - 6-5 - C - SO - San Diego, CA
Teena Wickett, PEP - 6-3 - F/C - FR - Oakland, CA 

*Previous times on All-WCC first team

HONORABLE MENTION LMU: Amanda DeCoud; Ashlee Dunlap; Jennifer Hall Pepperdine: Daphanie Kennedy Saint Mary's: Maija Lahde San Francisco: Shay Rollins Santa Clara: Jen Gottschalk

2007 ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Heather Bowman, GON - 6-2 - F - Spokane, WA
Laiken Dollente, POR - 5-8 - G - Yakima, WA
Heidi Heintz, USF - 5-10 - F - Spokane, WA
Morgan Henderson, USD - 6-1 - F - Leawood, KS
Teena Wickett, PEP - 6-3 - F/C - Oakland, CA