STEIN STEPS DOWN
Missouri women's basketball coach Cindy Stein has resigned effective at the end of the season. Stein is 184-175 in 12 seasons with the Tigers, and reached the NCAA regional semifinals in 2001. Missouri hasn't qualified for the NCAA tournament since 2006.

ALYSHA CLARK AWARDED ROBIN ROBERTS/WBCA RECOGNITION
Alysha Clark of Middle Tennessee State has been chosen to receive the WBCA's Robin Roberts/WBCA Broadcasting Scholarship Award. The $4,500 award is presented annually to one female collegiate basketball player who intends to pursue graduate work and a career in sports communications/journalism. Clark is averaging 26.9 ppg. and 11.2 rpg. She was a 2009 State Farm Coaches' All-America team finalist. Clark is also one of 10 finalists for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

LOCHNER LEAVES LA SALLE
La Salle women's basketball coach Tom Lochner has come to "a mutual agreement" with school athletic director Tom Brennan to resign at the end of the current campaign. Lochner is 71-102 in six seasons with the Explorers. He had one winning season, going 19-11 in 2006-07.

SILVER STARS COACH TO TAKE ON SOLE POSITION
Dan Hughes, head coach and general manager of the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA since 2005, will not be coaching in 2010. He will remain as GM, but has promoted assistant coach Sandy Brondello to the head job. Olaf Lange, Brondello's husband, has been promoted from assistant to associate head coach. Hughes is the only coach in WNBA history to take three different teams to the playoffs.

CHARLES NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
UConn senior center Tina Charles heads the Big East All-Conference team by being named Player of the Year for the league. Charles finished second in the league in scoring at 18.9 ppg., and was first in shooting percentage (.668). She was second in the league in blocked shots (2.5 bpg.) and fourth in rebounding (9.3 rpg.). She recently, in the same game, set school records for both points and rebounds in a career. Charles and junior forward Maya Moore are unanimous first-team selections on the Big East first team. Other members of the conference first team are senior guard Kalana Greene, UConn; senior center Jessica Lawson, South Florida; senior guard Chelsea Marandola, Providence; senior forward Nicole Michael, Syracuse; sophomore forward Monique Reid, Louisville; junior guard Liz Repella, West Virginia; freshman guard Sugar Rodgers, Georgetown; senior guard Lindsay Schrader, Notre Dame; and sophomore forward Da'Shena Stevens, St. John's. Reid was selected as the Most Improved Player, and Rodgers was named Big East Freshman of the Year.

ASHLEY PARIS SIGNS WITH PHOENIX
Free agent Ashley Paris has signed a contract with the WNBA defending champion Phoenix Mercury. The Los Angeles Sparks released Paris, selected in the second round of the 2009 draft, in June 2009. The former University of Oklahoma star played in the off-season for Elizaur Ramla in Israel. She averaged 16.0 ppg. and 10 rpg. in nearly 35 minutes per game.

GANNON UNIVERSITY TOPS DIVISION II POLL
Gannon (PA) University (33-0) is this week's leader in the USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' poll. In the runner-up spot is Franklin (NH) Pierce at 28-1, and third is Michigan Tech (28-2). Rounding out the top five are Arkansas Tech (28-2) and the University of Indianapolis (IN) at 26-3.

LAVENDER NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE YEAR (AGAIN)
Ohio State junior center Jantel Lavender is the Big Ten Player of the Year for the third straight season. She joins former Buckeye center Jessica Davenport (2005-07) as the only player to win the award three consecutive times. Lavender led the conference in scoring (20.9 ppg.), and was named Big Ten Player of the Week four times this season, bringing her career total to 13. Joining Lavender on the Coaches conference first team are teammate Samantha Prahalis, Jenna Smith of Illinois, Kachine Alexander of Iowa, and Tyra Grant of Penn State. The media chose Lavender, Prahalis, Smith, Grant and Amy Jaeschke of Northwestern on its first unit. Lisa Stone of Wisconsin was chosen Coach of the Year by the coaches, and the media selected Lisa Bluder of Iowa. Both groups named Jaime Printy of Iowa the Freshman of the Year.

SUN HAS FIRST PICK IN WNBA DRAFT
When the WNBA holds its annual collegiate draft on April 8, the Connecticut Sun will have the first pick that it gained in an earlier trade with the Minnesota Lynx. The Sun obtained the first selection and guard Renee Montgomery from the Lynx for guard Lindsay Whalen and the second overall pick. The draft will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

WRIGHT OF VIRGINIA TOPS ACC ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
Senior guard Monica Wright was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Wright was the only player in the ACC to average better than 20 points per game (23.0 ppg.), and she led the league in steals (3.6 spg.). She shot 80.7 percent from the foul line to rank second in the ACC. Selected on the all-league first team with Wright are: Carolyn Swords, junior center, Boston College; Jasmine Thomas, junior guard, Duke; Jacinta Monroe, senior forward, Florida State; and Shenise Johnson, sophomore forward, Miami. The 2010 ACC Coach of the Year is Joanne P. McCallie of Duke, who is in her third year at the helm of the Blue Devils.

KENTUCKY'S DUNLAP NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Southeastern Conference announced that Victoria Dunlap of Kentucky is the Player of the Year, Armelie Lumanu of Mississippi State is the Defensive Player of the Year, and Tennessee's Alyssia Brewer is the Sixth Woman of the Year. Named to the SEC first team are: Dunlap; Ashley Houts, Georgia; Allison Hightower, LSU; Bianca Thomas, Ole Miss; Alexis Rack, Mississippi State; Angie Bjorklund and Kelley Cain, Tennessee; and Jence Rhoads, Vanderbilt. Matthew Mitchell of Kentucky was the league's Coach of the Year.

JONES ADDS SPRINTER'S SPEED TO TULSA
Former track star Marion Jones has signed a contract to play basketball with the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA. Jones had five medals that she won at the 2000 Olympics taken away from her after she admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs prior to the Summer Games. Jones, now 34, hasn't played basketball since leaving North Carolina in 1997, after, as a freshman, helping the Tar Heels win a national championship in 1994. The Phoenix Mercury drafted Jones in 2003.

PAC-10 NAMES MEDIA AWARDS
Stanford sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike is the Pac-10 Player of the Year as chosen by the media that covers the league. She led the conference in scoring (18.2 ppg.) and ranked third in rebounding (9.4 rpg.). Named Defensive Player of the Year was Arizona junior forward Ivy Ibekwe, and UCLA head coach Nikki Caldwell was selected as Coach of the Year. Chosen on the Pac-10 first team are: Ogwumike; Ibekwe; Jayne Appel, Jeanette Pohlen and Kayla Pedersen, Stanford; Alexis Gray-Lawson, California; Jasmine Dixon and Markel Walker, UCLA; Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath, USC; Taylor Lilley, Oregon; Danielle Orsillo, Arizona State; Davellyn Whyte, Arizona; Talisa Rhea, Oregon State; and Sami Whitcomb, Washington.

HARRIS OF XAVIER NAMED A-10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Xavier junior forward Amber Harris is the 2010 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. Harris averaged 15.3 ppg. that was third best in the league, and grabbed 9.0 rpg., second in the conference. Teammate Ta'Shia Phillips, a junior center, was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. Kevin McGuff of Xavier was the league's Coach of the Year. Harris, a three-time A-10 first-team performer, is joined on the league's first team by teammate Phillips, Brittani Shells of Richmond, Dana Mitchell of St. Bonaventure, and Kristen McCarthy of Temple.

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT A SCORING MACHINE
Scoring records were shattered a number of times during the Sun Belt tournament. Alysha Clark converted a layup with 1.8 seconds left in overtime to give Middle Tennessee a 70-68 triumph over Arkansas-Little Rock for the conference championship. The winning basket gave Clark 48 points, setting the tournament's single-game scoring record for a third straight day. Clark's 40 points in the quarterfinals set a tournament high mark, that was broken the following day when UALR's Chastity Reed tallied 44 points in the semifinals. Reed scored 14 points in the championship game. Clark broke her own tournament record of 92 total points from a year ago, scoring 132 in three contests in 2010. Clark is averaging 26.9 ppg. and 11.2 rpg, with her scoring average No. 1 in Division I. Eight players, including Clark, played all 45 minutes of the championship contest. The Middle Tennessee triumph extended its winning streak to 16 straight, and stopped Arkansas-Little Rock's 21-game victorious string.

BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONOR GOES TO GRIFFIN OF NEBRASKA
Senior forward Kelsey Griffin became the first Nebraska player to win the Big 12 Player of the Year honor. Griffin is one of two conference players averaging a double-double with a Conference-high 10.4 rpg. and a second-place 20.4 ppg. She is second in the conference in shooting percentage (.611). Named Co-Defensive Players of the Year were Baylor freshman center Brittney Griner and Nebraska senior guard Yvonne Turner. Connie Yori of unbeaten Nebraska was named Coach of the Year. Joining Griffin, Griner and Turner on the league's first team are: Alison Lacey, senior guard, Iowa State; Ashley Sweat, senior forward, Kansas State; Cory Montgomery, senior forward, Nebraska; Danielle Robinson, junior guard, and Amanda Thompson, senior forward, both of Oklahoma; Andrea Riley, senior guard, Oklahoma State; and Tanisha Smith, senior guard/forward, Texas A&M. Griffin was first team in 2006-07 and 2007-08, but missed all of last season with an injury. Riley has been first team for three straight seasons.

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