Chantelle Anderson Named 2002 SEC Player of the Year, Zuzi Klimesova and Ashley McElhiney Named to All-SEC Teams 2/26/02

Vanderbilt junior center Chantelle Anderson was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year today. It is the first time a Vanderbilt women's basketball player has won the honor. Joining Anderson on the All-SEC first team was senior forward Zuzi Klimesova. Junior point guard Ashley McElhiney was named to the All-SEC second team.

Anderson, Klimesova and McElhiney have teamed to help lead Vanderbilt to 24-6 regular season record and season-best 10-4 SEC record for a second place finish in the league. VU's 24 regular season wins ties a season-high mark set in 1993 when the Commodores advanced to the Final Four and ended the season with a 30-3 record.

Anderson (6-6, Jr., C, Vancouver, Washington) leads the team in scoring with 20.6 points a game and is second in the nation in field goal percentage hitting 66.4 percent (245-369). She is fourth on the Vanderbilt All-Time Scoring List with 1,876 points and is only the fourth Commodore to total at least 1,800 points in a career. She is also fourth on the VU All-Time Field Goals Made List with 753. She was named SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 3 and was finalist for two awards at the Fourth Annual O'Charley's Dinner of Champions in February. Anderson has started in all 30 games this season averaging 29.0 minutes a game along with 6.0 rebounds. She owns a 74.3 free throw percentage (124-167) and has hit four 3-pointers. She also recorded four double-doubles this season. She set a career single season high mark with 43 assists and totals 618 points this season which is the ninth highest single season total at Vanderbilt. She earned numerous preseason all-america honors and was recently named as a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Award. She was also named to the WNIT and First Tennessee All-Tournament teams. This is the third year Anderson has been selected to the All-SEC team. She was a second team selection as a freshman and a first team selection last season.

Klimesova (6-2, Sr., F, Prague, Czech Republic) is ranked in six SEC statistical categories. She is ranked ninth in scoring (16.0); seventh in rebounding (7.2); third in field goal percentage (58.2, 191-328); fourth in free throw percentage (82.1, 92-112); fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.79) and sixth in defensive rebounds (4.87). She totals 29 career double-doubles including seven this season. She earned SEC Player of the Week honors twice and was recently named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. She has scored in double figures 100 times in her career which is fourth on the school's all-time list. She is only the third Commodore ever to total at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists. She currently totals 1,779 points, 913 rebounds and 327 assists. She ranks fifth on the VU All-Time Scoring List (1,779) and is fourth on the all-time rebounding list with 913 for a 7.2 game. She was named to the WNIT and First Tennessee All-Tournament teams. Zuzi was a second team selection as a sophomore and a first team selection last season.

McElhiney (5-5, Jr., PG, Gleason, Tenn.) makes her first appearance on the All-SEC team as a second team selection. The Commodore's court general leads the team with 136 assists vs. only 64 turnovers. She ranks second in the league in assist/turnover ratio with a 1.79. She also leads the team in 3-pointers made with 40 and ranks second in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage with a 44.9 mark (40-89). She is the eighth Commodore to total at least 400 career assists and totals 431 which places her sixth on the VU All-Time List. She is fourth on the team in scoring with 8.7 points a game and leads the team in minutes played with 1,039 for a 34.6 game average. She has played in six entire games this season and totals 20 for her career. She earned MVP honors in the First Tennessee Tournament helping lead Vanderbilt to the tournament title.

South Carolina's Susan Walvius was named SEC Coach of the Year, with Georgia's Kara Braxton earning Freshman of the Year honors. A complete list follows:

First Team All-SEC
Vanessa Hayden, Florida
Kara Braxton, Georgia
Aiysha Smith, LSU
*LaToya Thomas, Mississippi State
Tan White, Mississippi State
Shaunzinski Gortman, South Carolina
Jocelyn Penn, South Carolina
*Kara Lawson, Tennessee
*Chantelle Anderson, Vanderbilt
Zuzi Klimesova, Vanderbilt

Second Team All-SEC
Shondra Johnson, Alabama
Dana Cherry, Arkansas
Shameka Christon, Arkansas
Le'Coe Willingham, Auburn
Brandi McCain, Florida
Christi Thomas, Georgia
SeSe Helm, Kentucky
Doneeka Hodges, LSU
Michelle Snow, Tennessee
Ashley McElhiney, Vanderbilt

All-Freshman Team
Natasha Brackett, Auburn
*Kara Braxton, Georgia
Ebony Felder, Georgia
*Tan White, Misssissippi State
Shyra Ely, Tennessee
Loree Moore, Tennessee

Player of the Year
Chantelle Anderson, Vanderbilt

Freshman of the Year
Kara Braxton, Georgia

Coach of the Year
Susan Walvius, South Carolina

* denotes unanimous choice