South Florida senior forward Jessica Dickson this season passed Wanda Guyton on the program's all-time scoring list, a mark Dickson would not have been able to reach had she not stuck around for her fourth year of eligibility.
Dickson has scored 2,138 points during her time as a Bull, but it was the persistence, not the fruitfulness, of her record for which she recently was acknowledged.
Unlike most women's basketball players, Dickson had a legitimate decision to make after her junior year on whether to enter the WNBA draft.
After leading the nation in scoring for 11 of the 17 weeks the NCAA produced statistical reports during the 2005-'06 season, Dickson finished third and likely would have been selected in the draft as a junior.
But Dickson returned for her senior year and is making the rest of the league regret her choice.
Selected the 2006-'07 Big East Preseason Player of the Year, Dickson has lived up to the billing, averaging 19.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She also has led her team to a 15-5 record (5-2 in Big East play).
Last week, Dickson was nominated for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the acronym standing for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. The award is presented to a senior Division I women's basketball player each year.
Gaining experience
They may not yet know their school's fight song or where to put the luggage after they haul it all off the team buses, but several freshmen around the league have proven their worth on the court this season.
Nicole Michael of Syracuse is averaging 16.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Rutgers' Epiphanny Prince and Notre Dame's Ashley Barlow also are averaging more than 10 points per game.
Most impressive of all, though, has been the play of Connecticut's Tina Charles, who scores 11.6 points per game, grabs 8.1 boards per contest and shoots 56.5 percent from the field.
Bad news, folks. She's coming to town along with the rest of the No. 6 Huskies to face Marquette this Saturday night at the Al McGuire Center.
Player of the Week: Kalana Greene, Connecticut. The sophomore guard averaged 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in leading the Huskies to wins over DePaul and Notre Dame last week. She has scored in double figures in each of the past six games.
Who's Hot: West Virginia. The Mountaineers (14-7, 5-3 Big East) have won six straight games, the longest current winning streak in the Big East.
Who's Not: Pittsburgh. The Panthers (15-5, 3-4 Big East) have dropped three of their last five games and have played their way out of the top-25 polls.