April 17, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Illinois' Zhaque Gray (Chicago, Ill.), Indiana's Emily Phillips (South Bend, Ind.) and Pennsylvania's Renee Womack (Lansdale, Pa.), who will don the blue and white of the Penn State Lady Lions, have recently completed their outstanding prep careers. Highlighting the list of accomplishments of this trio are All-State selections by all three players, first team bids for Gray and Womack and a second team berth for Phillips.
Gray, a 5-8 guard from Prep John Hope High School in Chicago, led the Lady Eagles to the Chicago Public League championship and a 29-2 record this season. Gray was the only unanimous selection to the 3A All-State first team this season. It was her second appearance on the All-State first team. In her senior season, Gray also earned all-area recognition from the Chicago Sun-Times for the third time and received all-city accolades for the third time in her career. She accounted for 17.1 points, 4.2 assists and 2.5 rebounds this season. Gray, who is a 1,500-point scorer for her high school career, is the 38th-ranked recruit nationally by Blue Star Basketball.
Phillips, a 5-4 point guard from Washington High School, led the Panthers to the Indiana State High School Championship game for the third year in a row and a #25 ranking in the final ESPN High Elite 25 girls basketball poll. She was a first team Northern Indiana Conference selection and was also a second team All-State choice in her senior season. Phillips' other honors this season include the WSBT Student-Athlete of the Week, an Indiana All-Star Team selection and a Hoosier Basketball Magazine's Top 60 senior girls' basketball performers selection. Additionally, Phillips broke the single-season assists record with 176 helpers in 26 games (6.8 apg). She also contributed 7.7 points per game. During her high school career, Phillips played in three State Championship Finals, winning the State Championship in 2007 and finishing as a runner-up twice (2006, 2008). In 2007, Phillips led Washington High to a #13 rank in the final USA Today Super 25 girls basketball rankings.
Womack, a 5-10 guard from Methacton High School, led the Warriors to a 30-2 record, including a Suburban One American Conference title and a spot in the final eight of the PIAA State Tournament. Womack was a first team All-State selection, as well as all-area accolades and a nod as The Reporter's Athlete of the Year in girls basketball. She averaged 15.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in her final season. Womack, who is a Hoopgurlz.com four-star recruit, accumulated 75 assists, 73 steals and 32 blocked shots this year. Womack etched her name into the Methacton record books, leaving with the career scoring (1,696) and rebounding (975) marks, as well as the school's single-season records for scoring (484), rebounding (254) and steals (110).