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March 3, 2009

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Senior guards LaCoya Terry and Jasmine Young, as well as freshman center Jean Best, were named All-Conference USA for the 2008-09 season, as announced on Tuesday by league officials before the start of the 2009 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship. Terry garnered First-Team selection while Young collected Third-Team and All-Defensive team accolades and Best earned All-Freshman team laurels.

Terry's selection to the first team is the second in school history and first since Courtney Willis in 2004. Additionally, Best joined Young as the second player in the program annals to garner all-freshman Team selection. Meanwhile, Young picked up her fourth all-conference nod in four seasons and will end her career with three all-defensive team designations.

Terry, a Hephzibah, Ga., native and 2008-09 Preseason All-C-USA selection, finished with double-figure scoring in 25 games this season and is now the active leading scorer in C-USA history with 1,612 career points. This season, she averaged 17.4 points per game, second most in the league, and shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range while ranking among the league leaders with 40 made 3-pointers. Additionally, the lone senior on the league's first team currently sits third on the East Carolina career scoring ledger and checks in at 17th on the C-USA career chart. Terry also has two double-doubles to her credit this season and three in her career.

Young, who joined teammate Terry on the Preseason All-C-USA Team, will leave East Carolina with over 1,500 career points. She is currently the fifth-leading scorer in program history with 1,546 points and ranks in the top three in 3-point field goals made (first), assists (second) and steals (third). Additionally, she is the third-leading assist distributor in C-USA history, having accumulated 657 helpers entering the conference tournament. This season, Young is tied for the league lead with three double-digit assist efforts while notching two double-doubles and garnering MVP honors at the Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout. She is also averaging 11.0 points per game and a C-USA fourth-best 5.3 assists per contest.

Best ranks third on the team in scoring this season, averaging 8.4 points per game and leads the squad in blocked shots with 42, the ninth-most in a single season in school history. She also paces Conference USA in field goal percentage, converting 94 of her 152 attempts for a mark of .618. That percentage currently ranks as the highest in a single season in the program annals and would also put her first on the career ledger. Best notched her first career double-double in an overtime win over then C-USA leader UCF, matching her career high with 19 points while setting new personal standards with 13 rebounds and four blocks. Additionally, she was named to the Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout All-Tournament Team, averaging 14.5 points, eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks in wins over Mercer and Florida Atlantic.

East Carolina, the No. 8 seed in the 2009 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship, opens up tourney play Thursday, taking on the ninth-seeded UAB Blazers. The contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET inside Fogelman Arena on the campus of Tulane University.

2009 ALL-CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS
First Team
LaCoya Terry, East Carolina, G, 5-10, Sr., Hephzibah, Ga.
Courtney Taylor, Houston, G/F, 6-0, Soph., Crockett, Texas
Pauline Love, Southern Miss, F, 6-0, Jr., Luxora, Ark./Jones Co. JC
Emma Cannon, UCF, F, 6-2, Soph., Rochester, N.Y./School of the Arts Prep
Jareica Hughes, UTEP, G, 5-3, Jr., Southfield, Mich.

Second Team
Paris Leonard, Memphis, G, 5-8, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.
Brittany Gilliam, SMU, F, 5-11, Jr., Tyler, Texas
Delisha Wills, SMU, F, 5-10, Jr., Mesquite, Texas
Larrissa Williams, Tulsa, F/C, 6-3, Jr., Little Rock, Ark.
Britney Jones, UAB, G, 5-7, Sr., Chicago, Ill.

Third Team
Jasmine Young, East Carolina, G, 5-5, Sr., Richmond, Va.
Tynikki Crook, Marshall, F, 6-1, Soph., Detroit, Mich.
Stephanie Helgeson, Southern Miss, C, 6-4, Jr., River Ridge, La./Purdue
Ashley Langford, Tulane, G, 5-5, Sr., Harrisburg, Pa.
Chelsie Wiley, UCF, G, 5-7, Soph., Riviera Beach, Fla.

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jean Best, East Carolina, C, 6-5, Wilson, N.C.
D'Frantz Smart, Rice, G, 5-0, Chicago, Ill.
Christine Elliott, SMU, P, 6-3, Wichita, Kan.
Brett Benzio, Tulane, F, 6-3, Jensen Beach, Fla.
Dietra Caldwell, UTEP, G, 5-8, Missouri City, Texas

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Jasmine Young, East Carolina, G, 5-5, Sr., Richmond, Va.
Courtney Taylor, Houston, G/F, 6-0, Soph., Crockett, Texas
Brittany Gilliam, SMU, F, 5-11, Jr., Tyler, Texas
Larrissa Williams, Tulsa, F/C, 6-3, Jr., Little Rock, Ark.
Jareica Hughes, UTEP, G, 5-3, Jr., Southfield, Mich

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