April Emory
October 12, 2006 CHARLOTTE, NC- The Elizabeth City State University Lady Viking basketball team have been voted to fished first in the CIAA Eastern Division as voted by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Additionally ECSU had three student-athletes voted to the pre-season team All-American Celeste Trahan, 2006 Defensive Player of the Year Deanna Price and senior forward Tiffany Smith. Last season Celeste Trahan, a native of Stockton, CA, became the first woman in school history to be named an All-American after leading the nation in rebounding for the second consecutive year. She ranked second in the CIAA in scoring at 19.5ppg. Deanna Price a senior guard from Washington, DC, was named Defensive Player of the Year after leading the CIAA in steals last year. She ranked first in the conference in assists and was 15th in scoring at 12.5 point per game. Tiffany Smith a senior forward from Cheverly, MD was the Lady Vikings second leading scorer last year with an average of 15.3 point per game and set a new school record for points in a game with 47 points against Livingstone College. Trahan, Price and Smith were all All-CIAA selections last season. For the Eastern Division the predicted order of finish is as follows Elizabeth City State, Shaw University , Bowie State with a tied for fourth place between Saint Paul’s and Virginia Union and Virginia State rounding out the East. For the West, Johnson C. Smith is picked first followed by N.C. Central, Saint Augustine’s, Fayetteville State and Livingstone College. The Lady Vikings will open up the 2006-07 season on November 24 at home against Wingate University. For more information on ECSU Athletics, visit www.ecsuvikings.com.
