March 12, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--The Ivy League announced its annual women's basketball awards on Wednesday and two Bulldogs received All-Ivy recognition. Sophomore guard/forward Melissa Colborne, last season's Rookie of the Year, was named First Team All-Ivy, while freshman forward Lindsey Williams unanimously earned a place on the All-Rookie Team. This is the second straight year that Yale has placed players on both the First Team and the All-Rookie Team.

Colborne, one of two Bulldogs to start all 27 games this season, led the team and finished second in the Ivy League with 15.7 points per game. She ranked third in the league in field goal percentage (.474) and fifth in free throw percentage (.745). Colborne was named Ivy League Player of the Week four times, including back-to-back weeks where she scored 20-plus points in four consecutive games. This is the second straight year she's earned a spot on one of the Ivy League's postseason all-star teams. In addition to being named Rookie of the Year, Colborne was a member of the All-Rookie team last season.

Erica Davis was named First Team All-Ivy in 2006-07, giving the Bulldogs a member of the First Team in back-to-back seasons for the first time since all-time leading scorer Mary Kalich was honored in 1992-93 and 1993-94.

The rest of the first team consisted of Princeton's Meagan Cowher, who was selected for the third straight year, and one player each from the three teams that shared the Ivy League championship--Cornell's Jeomi Maduka, Dartmouth's Koren Schram and Harvard's Emily Tay. Maduka was named Ivy League Player of the Year.

Lindsey Williams

Williams played in 26 games and started the last 22. She led the team and placed fifth in the Ivy League with 6.6 rebounds per game. Williams finished fourth in the Ivy League with a free throw percentage of .788. She averaged 8.6 points per game and recorded two double-doubles.

Williams was one of three freshmen unanimously named to the All-Rookie squad--joining Dartmouth's Brittney Smith, the Rookie of the Year, and Columbia's Lauren Dwyer. With her selection, Yale has now had a player named to the All-Rookie Team in four of the last five seasons.

The Bulldogs went 9-18 overall and 7-7 in Ivy games this season. Yale and Columbia finished tied for fourth place, Yale's highest finish since 2001-02. The 2001-02 campaign also marks the last time prior to this season that the Bulldogs posted a .500 record in conference play.

2007-08 ALL-IVY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS
First Team
*Jeomi Maduka, Cornell
Koren Schram, Dartmouth
Emily Tay, Harvard
Meagan Cowher, Princeton
Melissa Colborne, Yale

Second Team
Danielle Browne, Columbia
Michele Gage, Columbia
Lindsay Hallion, Harvard
Katie Rollins, Harvard
Carrie Biemer, Penn

Honorable Mention
Annesley O'Neal, Brown
Lauren Benson, Cornell
Moina Snyder, Cornell
Sydney Scott, Dartmouth
Brittney Smith, Dartmouth

All-Rookie Team
*Lauren Dwyer, Columbia
*Brittney Smith, Dartmouth
*Lindsey Williams, Yale
Sadiea Williams, Brown
Kim Adams, Penn
*-unanimous selection

Player of the Year: Jeomi Maduka, Cornell
Rookie of the Year: Brittney Smith, Dartmouth

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity