Parker repeats as player of the year

ST. LOUIS, April 3 (UPI) -- Tennessee's Candace Parker has been selected the women's national collegiate player of the year for the second consecutive season.

The vote by members of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association of America made Parker, a junior, the third woman to win the player of the year award in back-to-back years, the association said Thursday. Virginia's Dawn Staley (1991-92) and Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw (1998-99) are the other two.

Parker has helped the Volunteers to an NCAA semifinals berth Sunday against Louisiana State. The Lady Vols are 34-2 this season as they look to repeat their 2007 national championship.

She averaged a team-leading 21.6 points and 8.3 rebounds a game while making 55.3 percent, also a Lady Vols best, of her shots from the floor.

Parker is also one of four three-time USBWA picks for All-America honors this year. Maryland's Crystal Langhorne, Oklahoma Courtney Paris and Stanford's Candace Wiggins are the others. Sylvia Fowles of Louisiana State is a two-time honoree.