Texas A&M women’s basketball player Danielle Adams was named to the Associated Press (AP) All-America First Team and Sydney Colson was voted an AP All-America honorable mention, it was announced Tuesday.
From Kansas City, Mo., Adams became the first A&M player to make the first team after guiding the Aggies to their first 30-win season and just second trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. She had the fourth-largest tally of votes from the media panel and is now a two-time All-American after being named honorable mention a year ago.
Adams is averaging a team-best 22.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, which ranks among the NCAA Division I and the Big 12 Conference leaders. She was recently named to the All-Big 12 First Team and the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. She is also a finalist for the State Farm Wade Trophy, the State Farm All-America Team, the Naismith Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award.
“It was a goal for me at the beginning of the season to make the All-American team,” she said. “I’ve worked so hard for it, and I’m so happy and honored that I made the team, especially after putting that hard work in all offseason and this season just to prepare for this moment.”
The 6-foot-1 senior combination forward/center came to Texas A&M after spending two years at Jefferson College (Mo.).
“They provided me with the opportunity, and I’m thankful for it,” she said. “It’s a big honor for me and A&M.”
A native of Houston, Texas, Colson is another instrumental factor in the Aggies’ historical success this season. She is among the Big 12 leaders and ranks in the top 10 nationally with 6.2 assists per game and a 2.31 assist-to-turnover ratio. The senior point guard was a 2011 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection. She is fourth on the A&M career assist list with 489 and second on the single season chart with 206 assists this year.
Adams and Colson are one of only seven all-time A&M players on 10 occasions to receive All-America honors. They are joined by former standouts Lisa Branch (1993-96), A’Quonesia Franklin (2005-08), Takia Starks (2006-09), Danielle Gant (2006-09) and Tanisha Smith (2009-10). Of this elite group, Adams, Starks and Franklin are the only two-time selections.
FIRST TEAM
Maya Moore, Connecticut, 6-0, senior, Lawrenceville, Ga., 22.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 4.1 apg, 52.2 fg pct., 2.2 steals (39 first-team votes, 195 points)
Brittney Griner, Baylor, 6-8, sophomore, Houston, 23.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 55.0 fg pct, 4.7 blocks (38, 193)
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State, 6-4, senior, Cleveland, 22.8 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 54.8 fg pct. (17, 142)
Danielle Adams, Texas A&M, 6-1, senior, Kansas City, Mo., 22.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 48.5 fg pct (15, 136)
Jeanette Pohlen, Stanford, 6-0, senior, Brea, Calif., 14.6 ppg, 90.4 ft pct., 4.8 apg (18, 123)
SECOND TEAM
Danielle Robinson, Oklahoma, 5-9, senior, San Jose, Calif., 18.3 ppg, 5.1 apg, 87.9 ft pct. (12, 108)
Amber Harris, Xavier, 6-4, senior, Indianapolis, 18.7 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 52.5 fg pct. (10, 108)
Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga, 5-8, senior, Kent, Wash., 19.6 ppg, 10.2 apg (11, 98)
Nnemka Ogwumike, Stanford, 6-2, junior, Cypress, Texas, 16.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 57.6 fg pct. (6, 88)
Jasmine Thomas, Duke, 5-9, senior, Fairfax, Va., 15.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.3 steals (5, 88)
THIRD TEAM
Shekinna Strickland, Tennessee, 6-2, junior, Morrilton, Ark., 12.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 49.1 fg pct. (10, 82)
Shenise Johnson, Miami, 5-11, junior, Henrietta, N.Y., 19.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 48.8 fg pct. (5, 78)
Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky, 6-1, senior, Nashville, Tenn., 17.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3.0 steals (0, 36)
Ta’Shia Phillips, Xavier, 6-6, senior, Indianapolis, 16.1 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 60.5 fg pct. (1, 33)
Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame, 5-9, sophomore, South Bend, Ind., 14.2 ppg, 4.8 apg, 4.1 rpg (0, 30)
HONORABLE MENTION
Kachine Alexander, Iowa; Angie Bjorklund, Tennessee; Kelsey Bolte, Iowa State; Jessica Breland, North Carolina; Cierra Brevard, Florida State; Kourtney Brown, Buffalo; Sydney Colson, Texas A&M; Jasmine Dixon, UCLA; Elena Delle Donne, Delaware; Dawn Evans, James Madison; Shante Evans, Hofstra; Briana Gilbreth, Southern Cal.
Keisha Hampton, DePaul; Tiffany Hayes, Connecticut; Courtney Hurt; Virginia Commonwealth; Ify Ibukwe, Arizona; Amy Jaeschke, Northwestern; Jessica Jenkins, Hampton; Adrienne Johnson, Louisiana Tech; Melissa Jones, Baylor; Kalisha Keane, Michigan State; Kevi Luper, Oral Roberts.
Deirdre Naughton, DePaul; Yinka Olorunnife, Idaho; Kayla Pedersen, Stanford; Jaime Printy, Iowa; Jence Rhoads, Vanderbilt; Sugar Rodgers, Georgetown; Odyssey Sims, Baylor; Meighan Simmons, Tennessee; Carolyn Swords, Boston College; Riquna Williams, Miami.