OU women's basketball player honored

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma's Stacey Dales on Tuesday became the six player to repeat as a first-team choice on the Associated Press All-America team. <br><br>Dales led the second-ranked Sooners

Wednesday, March 13th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma's Stacey Dales on Tuesday became the six player to repeat as a first-team choice on the Associated Press All-America team.

Dales led the second-ranked Sooners to the Big 12 regular-season and conference championships. Her leadership and mere presence on the court make her valuable, but she also has good numbers: 17.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists.

She was at her best in the Big 12 tournament, averaging 22.3 points in three games and capping the Sooners' title run with 25 points and 11 rebounds against Baylor.

``If ever there was a kid who deserves to shine at this time, it's Stacey Dales,'' OU coach Sherri Coale said. ``I'm telling you, she is fun to watch. There were many, many plays in Kansas City this past weekend where I just sat down and enjoyed watching her.''

Dales also helped lead Oklahoma (27-3) to its first No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament. The Sooners open play in the West Regional on Saturday against Hartford.

Joining Dales on the first team were Connecticut's Sue Bird, Alana Beard of Duke, Chantelle Anderson of Vanderbilt and LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State.

Beard received 36 first-team votes from a nationwide panel and had 204 points, while Anderson had 37 first-team votes and 200 points, followed by Dales with 177 and Thomas with 140.

The second team was made up of UConn's Swin Cash and Diana Taurasi, Angie Welle of Iowa State, Nicole Powell of Stanford and Kelly Mazzante of Penn State.

Oklahoma's LaNeishea Caufield was an honorable mention.