BLS Bellsouth Cp

Ohio State Center Jessica Davenport One of Four Finalists for the Naismith Trophy Presented by Cingular Wireless Fan Voting Through April 2nd Will Help Decide Winner ATLANTA, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- College basketball fans can vote for Ohio State center Jessica Davenport for the recipient of the Naismith Trophy presented by Cingular Wireless, given annually to the men's and women's players of the year in college basketball. Davenport, LSU guard Seimone Augustus, Duke guard Monique Currie and TCU forward Sandora Irvin were announced as the four women's finalists for the Trophy by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Sunday. Thanks to Cingular Wireless, college basketball fans this year have an unprecedented voice in deciding who wins the Naismith Trophy. For the first time ever, fan voting, through the power and ease of wireless text messaging, will account for 25% of the total. To participate, fans can text message "VOTE" to "26222" to submit their vote (voting is open to most wireless carriers). Voting for the Naismith Trophy concludes on Saturday, April 2 at 9:00 PM EST. The Naismith Trophy College Players of the Year will be announced in St. Louis on Sunday, April 3. Davenport leads the Buckeyes with an average of 19.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. She averaged a double-double in league games and was named the 2005 Big Ten Player of the Year. Last year's Naismith Trophy recipient was the University of Connecticut guard Diana Taurasi. Other notable winners include Cheryl Miller, Rebecca Lobo, Sheryl Swoopes, Chamique Holdsclaw and Dawn Staley. For more information, visit http://www.naismithawards.com/ . About Cingular Wireless Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving more than 50 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation and the largest mobile- to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/ . Get Cingular Wireless press releases e- mailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://www.cingular.com/newsroom . About The Atlanta Tipoff Club The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Bates Grainger, +1-770-955-1300, or +1-770-331-6617, or , for Cingular Wireless; or Clay Owen of Cingular Wireless, +1-404-236-6153, or Web site: http://www.naismithawards.com/ http://www.cingular.com/ http://www.cingular.com/newsroom

Copyright