Nov. 16, 2004

BRISTOL, Connecticut - Junior Sophia Young, an All-America and National Player of the Year candidate, has been named by ESPN.com as one of the nation's top five power forwards.

ESPN's panel of experts selected Young, a 6-1 native of St. Vincent, West Indies, as one of the top five power forwards in women's basketball. Young averaged 16.7 points and 8.6 rebounds a game last season and led Baylor to the school's first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance and a 26-9 record. To kick off the 2004-05 season, Young tallied 21 points and six rebounds on Sunday when the 8th-ranked Lady Bears dropped a 71-70 decision to 3rd-ranked LSU in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic.

ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman, ESPN.com columnist Mechelle Voepel and Melanie Jackson, who coordinates ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage, contributed to the selection process.

According to Voepel, "Young's quickness and deceptive strength inside make her really hard to stop, especially with the attention teams also have to pay to teammate Steffanie Blackmon."

Joining Young on the five-member squad are: 6-3 sophomore Tiffany Jackson of Texas; 6-2 junior Khara Smith of DePaul; Connecticut's 6-0 junior Barbara Turner; and Kansas State's 5-11 senior Kendra Wecker.