April 11, 2010

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - - The 2009-2010 University of Memphis women's basketball team and its closest supporters got together for one last hurrah to celebrate the 20-14 season at the annual team banquet Sunday afternoon.

The Fast Break Club and the Tiger coaching staff awarded seven individual awards and recognized the accomplishments of the 2009-2010 squad.

Sophomore guard Ramses Lonlack was awarded the perpetual Les Phillips Award, an award created in honor of former Tiger fan Les Phillips and awarded annually to the player who most represents what it means to be a Tiger. The Fast Break Club maintains a plaque in honor of the award, which hangs in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse.

Senior guard LaToya Bullard received the Most Improved Player Award. The senior missed all of last season due to back injury, but recovered and stepped in as the team's starting point guard by the time the team was playing for a Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Championship at the end of March. She finished the year ranked 38th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8), ranked second on the team in steals, first in assists and fifth in scoring.

Junior center Savannah Ellis received the Tiger Rebounding Award after leading Memphis with 6.7 rebounds and game this season. Ellis has 102 offensive rebounds and led the team with 37 blocked shots while averaging 6.4 ppg.

Lonlack, who was also named to the Conference USA All-Defensive team, was named the team's Most Valuable Defensive player. Lonlack capped her sophomore campaign with 96 steals, just one shy of the school record of 97 held by Linda McKinnie during McKinnie's 1978-79 season.

Sophomore guard Brittany Carter was named the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player after leading Conference USA with 19.2 ppg. Carter capped the season with 654 points, including 31 of 34 games with double-digit scoring. The 654 point single season total ranks eighth all-time in Tiger history. Only three other Memphis players have scored 650 or more points in a season (Tamika Whitmore , 1997-1998 and 1998-99; Betty Booker, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80; and LaTonya Johnson, 1997-98). Carter was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year and was named First Team All-C-USA in a vote of the league coaches and media.

Carter also received the Tiger REALL Team Values Award for her work ethic and off-the-court effort.

The Sixth `Player' of the Year Award was given to Sandy and Ken Lenoir. The Sixth Player Award was created last season to honor the off-the-court and sometimes behind-the-scene efforts of Tiger supporters. The couple was presented a pair of framed Tiger jerseys in honor of earning the second-ever Sixth Player Award.

The team's academic honors were also announced to the over 100 people in attendance. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir (Tiger 3.0 Club, Tiger Academic 30, Dean's List, C-USA Honor Roll, C-USA Academic Medal), Nicole Dickson (C-USA Academic Honor Roll), Savannah Ellis (Tiger 3.0 Club, C-USA Academic Honor Roll), Jasmine Lee (Tiger 3.0 Club, C-USA Academic Honor Roll), Janeta Reeves (Tiger 3.0 Club, C-USA Academic Honor Roll) were all honored for their off-the-court work in the classroom. The team also took a moment to recognize the individual honors received this season by Brittany Carter (First Team All-C-USA, C-USA Newcomer of the Year), Nicole Dickson (C-USA All-Freshman Team) and Ramses Lonlack (C-USA All-Defensive Team).

The afternoon luncheon ended with a recognition of seniors LaToya Bullard and Tehani Goldsmith. Bullard has begun the NCAA appeals process for a sixth season of eligibility after playing just four semesters of college basketball over her five-year career due to a lingering back injury that eventually required surgery last year. She returned this season following surgery, playing in 31 of 34 games, with 16 starts and bouncing back from a late season elbow injury suffered in a win at UTEP that cost her the final three regular season games. She bounced back in the WBI to power Memphis to a 20-14 season, the team's first 20-win season since 2003-04 and just the Tigers' second 20-win season in a decade.

Goldsmith sat out the 2009-2010 season with a career-ending medical condition, but as a junior college All-American, was one of the first signees of then-first year head coach Melissa McFerrin. Goldsmith's 23 game Tiger career included 13 starts, eight double-digit scoring games and a game-winning free-throw in a road win at Tennessee Tech that helped the 2008-09 Tiger team finish the non-conference with a winning record for the first time since 2004-05.