Aug. 13, 2004

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The John R. Wooden Award's National Advisory Board has named Purdue sophomore Katie Gearlds as one of its preseason top 30 candidates for the prestigious player of the year honor. The board selected the student-athletes based on last year's individual performance and team records. Mike Solum, director of the Wooden Award, said paring the preseason list to 30 was not easy. "The Committee had an incredibly difficult task in narrowing down the nation's top 30 women's players. In fact, 67 players received at least one vote, which truly illustrates the parity of women's college basketball today," Solum said. "This list represents the elite of college basketball, and our entire team at the Wooden Award is excited to see the best players in the nation prove their case as basketball's player of the year." Gearlds, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward, averaged 10.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as a reserve for the 2003-04 Boilermakers. She is one of only five sophomores on the 2004-05 watch list. The others are Texas' Tiffany Jackson, North Carolina's Camille Little, UCLA's Noelle Quinn, and Utah's Kim Smith. In addition to Gearlds, Minnesota's Janel McCarville and Penn State's Tanisha Wright represent the Big Ten on the preseason list. The Big 12 Conference led the way with six players. Purdue and John Wooden go hand in hand. Wooden was a three time All-America selection and the 1932 national player of the year for the Boilermakers. He went on to become one of the greatest coaches in sporting history, winning 10 national championships while posting a 620-147 record at UCLA. The John R. Wooden Award, considered the most prestigious individual honor in men's college basketball, was created in 1976. The women's award celebrated its inaugural year in 2004, with Duke's Alana Beard receiving the honor. Purdue's Shereka Wright finished as one of five finalists for the award, thereby earning first team Wooden All-America honors. The Wooden Award, whose men's winners include Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Boilermaker legend Glenn Robinson, is given to the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation while maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 20 List. In March, the official voting ballot, consisting of the top 10 to 15 candidates, will be released. The top five male and female finalists will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university's general scholarship fund. The Wooden Award Scholarship Fund was established in 2002 by Applied Materials and corporate partners through the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor coach Wooden's dedication as an educator and mentor. The Scholarship Fund distributed $15,000 last year to each university represented by a men's and women's Wooden Award All-American Team finalist, for a total of $150,000. Additional donations to Applied Materials' John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund can be made by contacting the scholarship fund through the CCF (www.calfund.org). The 2005 award ceremony will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 9, 2005 and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast. For more information on the John R. Wooden Award, please visit www.WoodenAward.com.

Wooden Women's Award Preseason All-American Team
Seimone Augustus	6'1"	Jr.	G	LSU
Jacqueline Batteast	6'2"	Sr.	F	Notre Dame
Steffanie Blackmon	6'2"	Sr.	F	Baylor
Nikki Blue	        5'8"	Jr.	G	UCLA
Jamie Carey	        5'6"	Sr.	G	Texas
Monique Currie	        6'0"	Jr.	G	Duke
Shyra Ely	        6'2"	Sr.	F	Tennessee
Emily Faurholt	        5'11"	Jr.	F	Idaho State
Katie Feenstra	        6'8"	Sr. 	C	Liberty
Katie Gearlds	        6'1"	So.	G/F	Purdue
Sandora Irvin	        6'3"	Sr.	F	TCU
Dionnah Jackson	        5'9"	Sr.	G	Oklahoma
Tiffany  Jackson	6'3"	So.	F	Texas
Temeka Johnson	        5'3"	Sr.	G	LSU
Camille Little	        6'1"	So.	G/F	North Carolina
Kristen Mann	        6'2"	Sr.	F	UC Santa Barbara
Janel McCarville	6'2"	Sr.	F	Minnesota
Loree Moore	        5'9"	Sr.	G	Tennessee
Shawntinice Polk	6'5"	Jr.	C	Arizona
Cappie Pondexter	5'9"	Sr.	G	Rutgers
Noelle Quinn	        6'0"	So.	G	UCLA
Heather Schreiber	6'2"	Sr.	F/G	Texas
Khara Smith	        6'2"	Jr.	F	Depaul
Kim Smith	        6'1"	So.	F	Utah
Ann Strother	        6'2"	Jr.	G	Connecticut
Kelley Suminski	        5'9"	Sr.	G	Stanford
Barbara Turner	        6'0"	Jr.	G/F	Connecticut
Kendra Wecker	        5'11"	Sr.	F	Kansas State
Tan White 	        5'8"	Sr.	G	Mississippi State
Tanisha Wright	        5'11"	Sr.	G	Penn State

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