Produced by: RedStormSports.com
February 7, 2017
On Tuesday, St. John’s redshirt senior Sandra Udobi was named to the 2017 Allstate Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Good Works Team®. The team honors college basketball student-athletes who have shown dedication to bettering the lives of others through giving back to their communities.
Udobi, a native of Delta State, Nigeria, is one of only five Division I women’s basketball players to be honored. Overall, just 20 total student-athletes in men’s and women’s basketball from NCAA Division I, II and II and the NAIA are selected to the Allstate NABC and WBCA Good Works Teams.
“We are extremely proud of Sandra’s commitment to upholding the Vincentian mission our university is founded upon by what she has done to help those in need,” Head Coach Joe Tartamella said. “This is a tremendous honor for her and is certainly well deserved. The WBCA Good Works Team is one of the highest honors a student-athlete can received from the WBCA, and I know she is extremely happy to be a part of such a prestigious group. I know that her commitment to helping others will continue beyond her college years and we are all proud of her.”
Udobi, a redshirt senior that has seen action in 13 games this season, has been a model student-athlete during her time at St. John’s. One of the veteran leaders of the team, Udobi returned to the court last season after missing the entire 2014-15 campaign due to numerous injuries. The Delta State, Nigeria, native was determined to return to the Red Storm lineup. Not only did she return, but the 6-2 forward played in 30 games last season and made 29 starts, guiding the team to the program’s first BIG EAST Championship since 1988. Additionally, Udobi was the team’s top free throw shooter, making 20 of her 24 attempts from the line.
Off the court, Udobi continues to give back to her native community, returning to Nigeria every summer to run the S&S Basketball camp, which not only strives to teach young Nigerian girls the game of basketball, but seeks to instill confidence in the young athletes necessary to excel in other areas of life beyond basketball as well.
Udobi was chosen for the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® from a record 97 nominees, which were announced in Dec. 2016. She is the first student-athlete at St. John’s to be named to the Allstate Good Works Team.
Udobi and the nine other members of the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team will be recognized during the 2017 WBCA Convention and at the 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four at the end of March in Dallas.
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