ATLANTA, Ga. - Junior guard Seimone Augustus of Louisiana State University has been named the recipient of the prestigious State Farm Wade Trophy presented by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS).

"Seimone has had a stellar junior season and a tremendous career thus far," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "She has proven herself as one of the top collegiate players in women's basketball and her accomplishments have made her very deserving of this award. On behalf of the WBCA, I applaud her and wish her continued success in the future."

The State Farm Wade Trophy, named after the late legendary three-time national champion Delta State University head coach Lily Margaret Wade, debuted in 1978 as the first-ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball. Past winners of the Wade Trophy include several prominent WNBA executives and players: New York Liberty vice president and general manager Carol Blazejowski (1978-inaugural winner), Los Angeles Sparks' DeLisha Milton-Jones (1997), Sacramento Monarchs guard Ticha Penicheiro (1998), Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird (2002) and Phoenix Mercury's Diana Taurasi (2003). Last year's State Farm Wade Trophy recipient was Alana Beard of Duke University. Beard currently plays for the WNBA's Washington Mystics.

Augustus received the award during The State Farm Wade Trophy announcement on April 2, 2005. The award presentation was part of the WBCA National Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Augustus has started in every game of her career at Louisiana State University (LSU), while becoming the 23rd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points and the eighth to accomplish the feat in two seasons. Augustus is currently ranked ninth in the nation in scoring, 14th in free throw percentage and 21st in field goal percentage.

This season, the 6-1 guard had 13 20-plus games to equal 40 for her career and ranked second in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in scoring. Augustus broke LSU's school record this season by connecting on all 11 of her field goal attempts in a game against North Texas.

The Baton Rouge (LA) native became the ninth player in school history to collect at least 1,500 points and 500 rebounds. Named the Chattanooga Regional Most Outstanding Player, Augustus is averaging 23 points and five rebounds per game in the NCAA Division I National Tournament. Augustus became the school's first SEC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year when she was honored by the United States Basketball Writers Association. Louisiana State University completed its best season record by going 27-1. They enter the Women's Final Four with a 33-2 record.

Other accomplishments during Augustus' career include: Kodak/WBCA All-America Team honors in 2004 and 2005, 2004 NCAA West Regional MVP, 2004 First-team All-SEC, 2004 Louisiana Player of the Year, 2004 and 2003 First-team All-Louisiana, 2003 Louisiana Freshman of the Year, and 2003 United States Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

"State Farm is proud to partner with the WBCA and recognize Seimone for her dedication and the tremendous achievements she has accomplished," said Pam El, Vice President of Marketing at State Farm.

The National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) was established to develop and deliver equitable and quality sport opportunities for ALL girls and women through relevant research, advocacy, leadership development, educational strategies, and programming in a manner that promotes social justice and change. State Farm is the leading insurer of cars and homes in the United States. The company's 80,000 employees join 16,300 agents in servicing more than 71 million auto, home, life and health insurance policies.

Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as an amateur sport for women and girls. For additional information about the WBCA, please visit WBCA.org.