2010 WNBA All-Defensive Team Announced

Aug 29 2010 3:05PM

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2009 � Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings, the 2010 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year presented by Kia Motors, headlines the 2010 WNBA All-Defensive Team, the league announced today. Catchings, who also earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2005, 2006 and 2009, collected 22 points from the league�s 12 head coaches. Atlanta Dream forward Angel McCoughtry and Chicago Sky center Sylvia Fowles finished second with 18 points apiece.

Seattle Storm guard Tanisha Wright (11 points) and New York Liberty guard Cappie Pondexter (10 points) round out the All-Defensive First Team.

Catchings earns her sixth consecutive appearance on the All-Defensive First Team. She is the only player to be named to the First Team every year it has been selected (2005-2010). Wright is the only other member of the First Team who was so honored last season. McCoughtry and Fowles, who were selected to the All-Defensive Second Team in 2009 and 2008, respectively, make their initial appearance on the First Team. For Pondexter, it is her first time earning All-Defensive Team honors.

The WNBA All-Defensive Second Team is comprised of Seattle Storm forward-center Lauren Jackson (15 points), Minnesota Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson (six points), Atlanta Dream center Sancho Lyttle (seven points), Washington Mystics guard Lindsey Harding (nine points), and Indiana Fever guards Tully Bevalaqua and Katie Douglas (six points apiece).

Jackson, the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year, was twice selected to the All-Defensive First Team (2007 and 2009) and twice named to the All-Defensive Second Team (2005 and 2008). For Brunson, this marks her third selection to the All-Defensive Second Team (2007 and 2008), while Lyttle earns Second Team honors for a second consecutive season. The Fever guards, Bevilaqua and Douglas, are no strangers to this honor. Bevilaqua was selected to the All-Defensive First Team in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, and to the second team in 2007; Douglas was a member of the First Team three consecutive seasons, 2005-2007. Harding is a first-time member of the All-Defensive squad.

A panel of the WNBA�s 12 head coaches voted on the WNBA All-Defensive Team, selecting First and Second Teams by position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Players earned two points for each First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

Below are the top finishers in the vote for the 2010 WNBA All-Defensive Teams:

2010 WNBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM
Player Team Position Points
Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever Forward 22
Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Forward 18
Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky Center 18
Tanisha Wright Seattle Storm Guard 11
Cappie Pondexter New York Liberty Guard 10


2010 WNBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM
Player Team Position Points
Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm Forward/Center 15
Rebekkah Brunson Minnesota Lynx Forward 6
Sancho Lyttle Atlanta Dream Forward 7
Lindsey Harding Washington Mystics Guard 9
Tully Bevilaqua Indiana Fever Guard 6
Katie Douglas Indiana Fever Guard 6


Series Info
Game 1: SEA 79, ATL 77: Box | Recap | Photos | Video
Game 2: SEA 87, ATL 84: Box | Recap | Photos | Video
Game 3: SEA 87, ATL 84: Box | Recap | Photos | Video


Gm 1: SEA 82, PHX 74
Box | Recap | Photos
Gm 2: SEA 91, PHX 88
Box | Recap | Photos

Gm 1: SEA 79, LAS 66
Box | Recap | Photos
Gm 2: SEA 81, LAS 66
Box | Recap | Photos

Gm 1: PHX 106, SAN 93
Box | Recap | Photos
Gm 2: PHX 92, SAN 73
Box | Recap | Photos


Gm 1: ATL 81, NYL 75
Box | Recap | Photos
Gm 2: ATL 105, NYL 93
Box | Recap | Photos

Gm 1: ATL 95 WAS 90
Box | Recap | Photos
Gm 2: ATL 101 WAS 77
Box | Recap | Photos

Gm 1: NYL 85, IND 73
Box | Recap | Photos
Gm 2: IND 75, NYL 67
Box | Recap | Photos
Gm 3: NYL 77, IND 74
Box | Recap | Photos