Stockton wins COTY
Stockton also won C-USA Coach of the Year earlier this season. PHOTO | PARKER WATERS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Tulane women’s basketball head coach Lisa Stockton was named Louisiana Coach of the Year April 4 by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association after a season in which she led the Green Wave to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003. Stockton won the award by a one-vote margin over Louisiana Tech head coach Teresa Witherspoon. She was also named Conference USA Coach of the Year earlier this season.
The award followed an injury-ridden season for the Wave, which finished the 2009-10 campaign with a 26-7 overall record and won both the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles despite fielding a five-guard lineup for much of the season. The team lost junior forward Brittany Lindsay for the season after only six games with a shoulder injury, and sophomore center Brett Benzio missed significant time after a foot injury. Stockton, who won the same award in her inaugural season with Tulane in 1995, said this season was one of her most enjoyable as head coach.
“This season has just been so much fun to coach,” Stockton said after winning the C-USA award. “It was a difficult year with all the adjustments we had to make, but as a coach, it was a much easier year. We didn’t have to motivate the players: they love basketball and they really enjoy playing with each other. The basketball part was easy.”
The head coach was joined by senior guard Chassity Brown, junior forward Danielle Nunn and junior guard Tiffany Aidoo, who were named to the first, second and third team all-state honors, respectively.
Brown won the award after a year with the Wave during which she averaged 13.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and tallied 85 steals. The senior was also named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s All-Region IV Team, the second-team All-C-USA and the C-USA All-Defensive Team.
Nunn, who also earned third-team All-C-USA honors this season, ranked second in C-USA averaging 2.74 steals and scored 11.0 points per game. The Texas Christian University transfer was named MVP of the Tulane Double Tree Classic after posting 17.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.0 assists in two games. She scored a career-high 23 points in the Green Wave’s contest against Texas-El Paso this year.
Aidoo, a Slidell, La. native, provided the Wave with a consistent perimeter threat throughout the season, leading C-USA with a Tulane record 43.3 percentage from three-point range. She worked her way into the starting lineup midway through the year, contributing 10.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.