Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan named to All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
August 17, 2006 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Detroit Shock News Release
Auburn Hills, MI - The WNBA announced today that Detroit Shock forward Cheryl Ford and guard Deanna Nolan were named to the All-WNBA Defensive Second Team. It is the first-ever Defensive Team nod for Ford and the second in successive years for Deanna Nolan. These nominations are the Shock franchise's second and third All-WNBA defensive team selections.
Ford led the league in defensive rebounds per game with 7.3 in 2006 and ranked 15th in blocks with .78 per game. She also tied Sparks center Lisa Leslie in double-doubles this year with 17 point/rebound double-doubles. In addition, Ford led the league in rebounds per game with 11.3 and in total rebounds with 363. Ford's 363 rebounds this season set a new WNBA single-season rebounding record. In her four-year career, the Shock forward has 55 career double-doubles (fifth most in league history) and holds the WNBA record for offensive rebounds in a game with 12 at San Antonio on May 22, 2004.
Nolan, Detroit's franchise leader in total steals (253), ranked 13th in total steals (47) and 15th in steals per game (1.4) in 2006. She finished the season fifth in minutes played in a season with 1,088 and added 11 blocks to her career.
Joining the Shock duo on the All-Defensive Second Team is Washington Mystics guard Alana Beard who ranked sixth in steals and eighth in blocks per game. This is the second consecutive Second Team nomination for Beard. The Connecticut Sun's Margo Dydek, the WNBA's pre-eminent shot-blocker, picked up her First Defensive Team nomination while 2005 All-Defensive First Team member Yolanda Griffith of the Sacramento Monarchs rounds out the All-Defensive Second Team.
Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings, the league's Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons (2005 and 2006), led the voting for the 2006 WNBA All-Defensive First Team. Catchings, a second-time First Team honoree, is joined by Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie, a Second Team nominee last year, and Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes, Connecticut Sun guard Katie Douglas, and Indiana Fever guard Tully Bevilaqua.
The second annual WNBA All-Defensive Teams were voted on by a panel of the WNBA's 14 head coaches, who selected First and Second Teams by position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Two points were awarded for a First Team vote and one point was awarded for a Second Team vote.
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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 17, 2006
- Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan named to All-WNBA Defensive Second Team - Detroit Shock
- Beard named to WNBA's All-Defensive Second Team - Washington Mystics
- Defensive Player of the Year Catchings tops WNBA All-Defensive Team - WNBA
- Indiana's Tamika Catchings named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year - WNBA
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