March 1, 2006

DALLAS, Texas - - Freshman guard Paris Leonard (Memphis, Tenn./Wooddale HS) was named the Conference USA Sixth Player of the Year it was announced by the league office, Wednesday. Leonard is second on the team with 12.9 points per game and has already hit 41 three-point field goals this season, already one of the top 10 single season performances in school history.

"Hopefully Paris can use this as a confidence booster to help her realize that she can play and compete at this level," Head Coach Blair Savage said.

Leonard is just the second Lady Tiger to win the league's Sixth Player of the Year honors in 11 years. She follows former Lady Tiger Victoria Crawford, who won the award in 2004.

Memphis will open C-USA tournament play Thursday, at 3:30 p.m. (CT) against No. 5 seed Marshall. That game can be heard in Memphis on WUMR (91.7 FM) with Jeff Brightwell calling the action. It can also be viewed online through the CSTV All-Access package which is available for a fee from www.cstv.com.