Faleru Named AP All-American Honorable Mention

Ole Miss women’s basketball senior forward Tia Faleru added to her list of postseason accolades by earning honorable mention AP All-American honors it was announced on Tuesday. It is the second recognition from the AP for Faleru this season as she was a unanimous selection to the AP All-SEC first team.

Photo courtesy Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics

Faleru, an Ozark, Alabama native, has taken her game to the next level in her senior campaign. The 6-1 forward was the lone SEC player averaging a double-double with 14.7 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game and is the first player to lead the league in rebounding in back-to-back years since LSU’s Sylvia Fowles led the SEC three straight years (2006-07-08). Additionally, she was the first to average double-figure rebounds since Georgia’s Porsha Phillips in 2011 and the first to average a double-double since 2011.Faleru is a walking double-double and recorded an SEC-best 14 double-doubles on the year, giving her 34 career double-doubles, placing her fifth all-time at Ole Miss and making her one of just five players to record 30+ double-doubles in a career.

On the year, Faleru is the lone SEC player to rank in the top five in points (14.7) rebounds (10.1) and field goal percentage (.487). Faleru led her team to the best season in the last five years as the Rebels earned a berth in the postseason WNIT – the first postseason action for Ole Miss since 2009-10. A projected late first to early second round WNBA draft pick in the upcoming draft, Faleru helped Ole Miss to a 19-14 record its best record since 2006-07.

The AP All-America honor is the second such honor for the senior, as she was named a College Sports Madness fourth team All-American earlier this season.

In 2014-15, under the direction of second year head coach Matt Insell, Ole Miss posted its best season in five years and picked up two wins over ranked opponents.  The Rebels also finished in the top half of the SEC for the first time since 2006-07.

For all Ole Miss women’s basketball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB and on Facebook at Ole Miss Women’s Basketball. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women’s basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.

Complete Listing of AP All-America Teams

FIRST TEAM

Jewell Lloyd, Notre Dame, 5-foot-10, junior, Lincolnwood, Ill.,

Breanna Stewart, UConn, 6-5, junior, Syracuse, N.Y.

Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina, 5-9, junior, Charlotte, N.C

Nina Davis, Baylor, 5-11, sophomore, Memphis, Tenn.,

Amanda Zahui B., Minnesota, 6-5, sophomore, Stockholm,

SECOND TEAM

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, UConn, 5-11, senior, Anaheim Hills, Calif.

Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State, 5-8, freshman, Cincinnati

Elizabeth Williams, Duke, 6-3, senior, Virginia Beach, Va.

Moriah Jefferson, UConn, 5-7, junior, Glenn Heights, Texas

Brittany Boyd, California, 5-9, senior, Berkeley, Calif.

THIRD TEAM

Lexie Brown, Maryland, 5-9, sophomore, Suwanee, Ga.

Samantha Logic, Iowa, 5-9, senior, Racine, Wis.

Jillian Alleyne, Oregon, 6-3, junior, Fontana, Calif.

A’ja Wilson, South Carolina, 6-5, freshman, Hopkins, S.C.

Ruth Hamblin, Oregon State, 6-6, junior, Houston, British Columbia,

Reshanda Gray, California, 6-3, senior, Los Angeles

HONORABLE MENTION

Lindsay Allen, Notre Dame; Morgan Bailey, BYU; Adut Bulgak Florida State; Cierra Burdick, Tennessee; Blake Dietrick, Princeton; Lexi Eaton, BYU; Makayla Epps, Kentucky; Tia Faleru, Ole Miss; Chelsea Gardner, Kansas, Chastity Gooch, Western Kentucky. Dearica Hamby, Wake Forest; Alex Harden, Wichita State; Isabelle Harrison, Tennessee; Brittany Hrynko DePaul; Niya Johnson, Baylor; Ashia Jones, UT-Martin; Jonquel Jones, George Washington; Jordan Jones, Texas A&M; Betnijah Laney, Rutgers; Vicky McIntyre, Oral Roberts. Mariya Moore, Louisville; Amber Orrange, Stanford; Kelsey Plum, Washington; Aerial Powers, Michigan State; Shereesa Richards, Albany; Porsha Roberts, Stephen F. Austin; Stacia Robertson, High Point; Leticia Romero, Florida State; Ka-Deidre Simmons, Seton Hall. Morgan Tuck, UConn; Brianna Turner, Notre Dame; Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State; Courtney Walker, Texas A&M; Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Maryland; Aleighsa Welch, South Carolina; Courtney Williams, South Florida.