March 25, 2010

By Marcus Dittmer, Media Relations Graduate Assistant

Three University of Tennessee Lady Vol basketball players have been selected as finalists for the State Farm Coaches' All-America team as announced today by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Junior Angie Bjorklund, redshirt-sophomore Kelley Cain and sophomore Shekinna Stricklen were chosen as finalists for the team.

Tennessee and Connecticut were the only two teams to have three players selected to the 40-person finalist list.

The 40 finalists are voted upon by WBCA-member coaches in each of the eight WBCA geographical regions. The State Farm Coaches' All-America Team will be announced in the Alamodome between open practices on Saturday, April 3, at 1:05 p.m. CT as a part of the NCAA's Super Saturday events in San Antonio, Texas, at the 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four.

"I'm extremely proud of our team, and these three student-athletes have been a tremendous part of what we've done as a program this season. All three have taken on leadership roles in order to help us be the best that we can be," said Head Coach Pat Summitt. "Kelley has been a go-to player in the paint for us. Shekinna has taken on the role of point guard and really made a difference. Angie has an excellent skill set and has made some very big shots for us and has become one of our best defenders. All three have invested an enormous amount of time and effort at improving their game and helping us get better as a basketball team."

Bjorklund was a unanimous choice to the First Team All-SEC by the league coaches and was also selected First Team All-SEC as chosen by the conference media. In addition, she was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was tabbed to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team. The Spokane Valley, Wash., native has climbed through the Tennessee record books in her third year at Rocky Top. Bjorklund has moved into third place on the career three-pointers list with 230 triples made and has advanced into second place on the UT single-season threes made list with 100. Bjorklund leads the team with 14.0 ppg, to go with 2.8 rpg and 2.8 apg.

Cain was named First Team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team by the league coaches and First-Team All-SEC by the league media. The 6-6 Atlanta, Ga., native set the UT single-game record with 12 blocks against LSU on Feb. 22, 2010, passed former Lady Vol and National Player of the Year Candace Parker for the Tennessee single-season blocks record and currently has altered 111 shots on the campaign. Cain has also moved into sixth place in the Tennessee career annals with 160 blocks. She is third on the team with 10.5 ppg, is second with 7.6 rpg and leads the squad with 3.5 bpg.

Stricklen was named Second Team All-SEC by the conference coaches and league media. She is a finalist for the Wooden Award, is a candidate for the Naismith Award and was named to the State Farm Wade Trophy Watch List. Stricklen recorded only the second triple-double in Lady Vol history when she scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out a career-best 12 assists against #14/15-ranked Oklahoma on Jan. 3, 2010, at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Morrilton, Ark., native is second on the team with 12.6 ppg, is third with 6.1 rpg and boasts a team-high 3.9 apg.

The Lady Vols will travel to Memphis, Tenn., for an NCAA Sweet 16 match-up with the Baylor Lady Bears on Saturday, March 27. Tip-off is set for 11:04 a.m. CT at the FedExForum in Memphis with ESPN carrying the action to a national audience.