March 4, 2002
Santa Barbara, Calif. -
The Big West Conference announced its postseason awards on Monday, bestowing the highest league honors upon members of the UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team.
Kayte Christensen capped her collegiate career with Big West Player of the Year honors, the fifth time in the past six years a Gaucho has earned conference MVP recognition. This also marks the second straight season Christensen has been named to the All-Big West First Team. The senior forward ranked third in the league in scoring at 14.9 points per game while her 9.2 rebounds per contest is the second-best average amongst Big West players. Christensen's stellar 58.0% field goal percentage makes her the most accurate shooter in the conference, ranking 17th nationally (as of Feb. 25). The Alturas, Calif., native has recorded 11 double-doubles on the season, while her 36 points against Cal State Northridge (Jan. 6) and 34 at Arizona (Jan. 14) are the two highest single-game totals by a Big West player this year.
Sophomore center Lindsay Taylor was named Second Team All-Big West, repeating the honor she earned in 2000-01 when she was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Year. The native of Chandler, Ariz., can boast averages of 12.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while ranking 13th nationally (as of Feb. 25) with a Big West-leading 2.42 blocks per game. Her 58 total blocks this year established a new single-season school record. Taylor ranks among the conference's top-10 in four statistical categories, including free-throw percentage, where she is second at 80.0%.
This has been a memorable couple of days for Taylor, who on Sunday earned the final Big West Player of the Week award of the season after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 boards in road wins at Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside, which clinched the Gauchos' perfect 16-0 conference record. Taylor was also named the first league player of the week on Nov. 18 following her career-high 27-point, 14-rebound performance to open the 2001-02 campaign against Western Kentucky. She now has four such awards in her two-year UCSB career.
Following in Taylor's footsteps as Big West Freshman of the Year is forward Kristen Mann, who also earned league honorable mention recognition. She is just three points shy of becoming the second-all time leading scorer in UCSB freshman history, while her scoring average of 13.1 and rebounding mark of 6.6 per game both place her amongst the conference's top-10. Mann's 27 points in a Feb. 8 win at Pacific are the sixth-most ever scored by a Gaucho rookie in a single game.
Joining Mann on the Big West All-Freshman Team, as well as in the group of honorable mention recipients, is guard Mia Fisher (Pleasanton, Calif.). Fisher ranks ninth in the league in assists at 3.42 per game, and has amassed 280 points this season, ninth-best in Gaucho freshman history.
Santa Barbara's third Big West honorable mention pick is Jess Hansen, the conference's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.08. The junior guard from Oregon City, Ore., who received the same recognition in 2000-01, is also the Big West's second most accurate three-point shooter, connecting at a 41.7% clip.
The Gauchos' quest for an unprecedented sixth consecutive Big West Tournament title begins on Wednesday, March 6 at 6:00 p.m. with a first round game against Cal State Fullerton.
