Aug. 17, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland's Shay Doron and Crystal Langhorne were two of 25 women's basketball players named to the 2005-06 preseason watch list for The State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year, which was announced today by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Maryland, along with LSU and North Carolina, are the only schools to have two student-athletes named candidates for the prestigious award. The ACC led all conferences with seven student-athletes on the list.

Regarded as the "Heisman of Women's Basketball," the award is organized by the WBCA, in conjunction with the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports (NAGWS). The national committee is comprised of coaches, journalists and basketball administrators. The 25 players were selected based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability.

It is the second major award Doron (Great Neck, N.Y./Christ the King) and Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) have been selected as candidates. Last week, both were selected preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award. Langhorne, who was the ACC's 2005 Rookie of the Year and a second team all-conference selection, is one of five sophomores on the watch list. Doron, a first team All-ACC pick last season, is one of four junior candidates.

Last year, Doron was a Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-American after leading the team with 17.6 points per game. This summer, she led the Isreali National Team to the Division B European Championship crown, the country's first-ever international tournament title in a women's sport, and was named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. She went on to be named MVP of the Maccabi Games after leading the U.S. to a gold medal.

Langhorne spent the summer with the U.S. U19 National Team. She also earned MVP honors after helping the squad to a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Tunis, Tunisia. A tri-captain of the USA squad, she was second on the Maryland squad in scoring last year, with 17.2 ppg, while also averaging a conference-best 10.6 rebounds per game and 18 double-doubles.

The 2006 State Farm Wade Trophy winner will be announced during the WBCA National Convention held in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four in Boston, Mass., March 31-April 4, 2006.

2005-06 The State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Preseason List The preseason candidates are listed in alphabetical order as follows:

Seimone Augustus  Senior    G   LSU
Nikki Blue        Senior    G   UCLA
Monique Currie    Senior    G/F Duke
Jessica Davenport Junior    C   Ohio State
Shay Doron        Junior    G   Maryland
Megan Duffy       Senior    G   Notre Dame
Candice Dupree    Senior    F/C Temple
Sylvia Fowles     Sophomore C   LSU
Erin Grant        Senior    G   Texas Tech
Tasha Humphrey    Sophomore F   Georgia
Tiffany Jackson   Junior    F   Texas
Tamara James      Senior    G/F Miami
Crystal Langhorne Sophomore C/F Maryland
Erlana Larkins    Sophomore F   North Carolina
Ivory Latta       Junior    G   North Carolina
Shawntinice Polk  Senior    C   Arizona
Cappie Pondexter  Senior    G   Rutgers
Liz Shimek        Senior    F   Michigan State
Khara Smith       Senior    F   DePaul
Kim Smith         Senior    F   Utah
Tiffany Stansbury Senior    F   NC State
Ann Strother      Senior    G/F Connecticut
Candice Wiggins   Sophomore G   Stanford
Sophia Young      Senior    F   Baylor
Shanna Zolman     Senior    G   Tennessee