Oct. 1, 2009

SAN DIEGO - A Wade Trophy and John R. Wooden Award candidate, San Diego State senior guard Jené Morris (San Francisco, Calif.), has been selected as a third-team preseason All-American in the 2009-10 Sporting News College Basketball magazine. As a team, the Aztecs were ranked 22nd for the second time by a national preseason publication, after SDSU was also tabbed for that spot last month by Lindy's College Basketball.

Morris was an honorable mention All-American in 2008-09, averaging 16.1 points per game, including eight, 20-point scoring performances. She led the Mountain West Conference in steals (3.33/g) to rank seventh nationally and is just the second player in league history to be named to either preseason watch list for the national player-of-the-year awards. She is the reigning MWC Defensive Player of the Year and was both a first-team all-conference pick and an all-league defensive squad selection as a junior.

Morris is one of four returning starters for head coach Beth Burns, who enters the fifth season of her second stint on Montezuma Mesa. Also coming back are junior center Paris Johnson (San Diego, Calif.), who the Sporting News singled out as, "may (being) ready to take a big step forward as one of the nation's best post players", and Aztec all-time assists leader senior guard Quenese Davis (Sacramento, Calif.).

In all, 10 letterwinners return from last year's SDSU squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, claimed a share of its' first-ever Mountain West Conference crown, completed a perfect 14-0 regular season home campaign and received votes in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

San Diego State begins practice October 16, with its first and only exhibition contest set for Friday, Nov. 6, against Point Loma Nazarene at 7 p.m. at Viejas Arena. The season officially kicks off Nov. 13, when the Aztecs travel to UC Irvine.

Sporting News College Basketball 2009-10 Women's Preseason All-America Team

First Team
Jayne Appel, Sr., Stanford
Jessica Breland, Sr., North Carolina
Tina Charles, Sr., Connecticut
Allison Hightower, Jr., LSU
Jantel Lavender, Jr., Ohio State
Maya Moore, Jr., Connecticut
Ta'Shia Phillips, Jr., Xavier
Andrea Riley, Jr., Oklahoma State
Danielle Robinson, Jr., Oklahoma
Monica Wright, Sr., Virginia

Second Team
Alysha Clark, Jr., Middle Tennessee
Cetera DeGraffenreid, Jr., North Carolina
Allyssa DeHaan, Sr., Michigan State
Alexis Gray-Lawson, Sr., Cal
Whitney Hand, So., Oklahoma
Danielle McCray, Sr., Kansas
Jacinta Monroe, Sr., Florida State
Kayla Pedersen, Jr., Stanford
Samantha Prahalis, So., Ohio State
Jasmine Thomas, Jr., Duke

Third Team
Jené Morris, Sr., San Diego State
Ashley Barlow, Sr., Notre Dame
Rachele Fitz, Sr., Marist
Tiffany Hayes, So., Connecticut
Aisha Jefferson, Sr., Michigan State
Lynetta Kizer, So., Maryland
Italee Lucas, Jr., North Caorlina
Deirdre Naughton, Sr., DePaul
Dymond Simon, Sr., Arizona State
Shekinna Stricklen, So., Tennessee