STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford seniors Erica McCall and Karlie Samuelson have been named two of eight Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Region 5 honorees and will now be placed into consideration for 2017 WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America Team the organization announced Thursday.
The two are joined on the Region 5 squad by Kristine Anigwe (Cal), Monique Billings (UCLA), Sophie Brunner (Arizona State), Jordin Canada (UCLA), Chantel Osahor (Washington), Kelsey Plum (Washington) and Sydney Wiese (Oregon State). The selection committee with select a 10-member WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America Team from a list of 52 candidates across the country's five regions, which will be announced Saturday, April 1 during the WBCA Convention in Dallas.
McCall is averaging team highs in points (14.3), rebounds (8.7) and blocks (1.7), has scored in double figures in 29 games and led the team in scoring 26 times and rebounding 20 times. She was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Pac-12 Tournament after averaging 11.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in Stanford's three wins.
The senior is one of only four players at Stanford with 1,300 career points, 900 rebounds and 190 blocks along with Jayne Appel, Chiney Ogwumike and Val Whiting. McCall has, at one point or another, been on watch lists for the Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy, Wooden Award and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as well as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. On March 1, she was named to the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-American Division I second team to become the eighth academic All-American in program history.
Samuelson is averaging career highs in points (12.6), rebounds (3.5) and assists (2.6) and personal bests in field goal percentage (.484) and 3-point field goal percentage (.483). She is fourth in career 3-point field goal percentage (.441) among active NCAA players and with 240 3-pointers made is third in Stanford history. Three of her four career games with six 3-pointers made have come this season as have 24 of her 54 games scoring in double figures and five of her seven 20-point efforts.
Samuelson will likely finish her career fifth in the Pac-12 in 3-point field goal percentage and with the best clip for any player since 1990. Rosalind Moore-Senior (Arizona State - 1987-89; .494), Chris Holten (Cal - 1987-90; .467), Jennifer Azzi (Stanford - 1987-90; .452) and Michelle Eble (Oregon - 1987-90; .443) are the only Pac-12 players to finish their careers making more than 43 percent from behind the arc.
The second-seeded Cardinal will meet third-seeded Texas in Lexington, Ky. at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET tonight in a regional semifinal on ESPN.