WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (AP) -- Stanford senior Nnemkadi Ogwumike has earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors, while the Cardinal's Tara VanDerveer is Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
The Pac-12 announced its awards Tuesday, chosen by the league's coaches. Ogwumike's younger sister and teammate, Chiney, has been named Defensive Player of the Year and Washington's Jazmine Davis is Freshman of the Year.
VanDerveer, in her 26th season at Stanford, was named top conference coach for the 12th time in her career. Chiney Ogwumike joined her sister on the all-conference team, as did teammate Toni Kokenis, a sophomore guard.
Nnemkadi Ogwumike leads the No. 2 Cardinal -- coming off their 12th straight regular-season conference crown -- with 21.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Stanford begins conference tournament play Thursday in Los Angeles after going unbeaten through conference play for the third straight season.
The rest of the all-conference team includes Arizona junior guard Davellyn Whyte; Calfiornia sophomore guard Layshia Clarendon; USC senior guards Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath; UCLA senior guard Rebekah Gardner and junior guard/forward Markel Walker; Colorado junior guard Chucky Jeffery; Oregon senior forward Amanda Johnson; Oregon State senior guard Earlysia Marchbanks; Washington senior center Regina Rogers and Utah sophomore forward Taryn Wicijowski.
Arizona State had three honorable mention selections: senior center Kali Bennett, senior forward Kimberly Brandon and junior guard Deja Mann. Bennett, who averages a team-leading 2.8 blocks and 6.8 rebounds per game, was named to the All-Defensive team.
The Sun Devils (19-10, 10-8 Pac-12) finished fourth in the Pac-12 regular season standings and have a first-round bye in the conference tournament. They will open tournament play on Thursday at 3:15 p.m. (MST) against the winner of Wednesday's game between fifth-seeded UCLA (14-15, 9-9) and 12th-seeded Arizona (14-16, 3-15). The Wildcats and Bruins play at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
Arizona's Whyte was named to the all-conference team for her third consecutive year. She ranks second in the conference in scoring at 17.0 points per game.
