2005-06: Started all 32 of team’s games, playing 40 minutes in eight of the team’s final 10 regulation games and a career-high 43 against Cincinnati in the preliminary round of the WNIT... Named First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference, to the SBC All-Tournament Team and ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District III Second Team... Led team with 15.8 points and 10.2 boards per game, while her 91 blocked shots set a new school single-season record that was 14 blocks better than Albena Branzova’s previous best total set during the 1992-93 season... Enters her senior year needing 92 blocks to pass Branzova for the school’s career record... Established career game highs in points, rebounds and blocks during the season; 31 points in a loss to Miami (Fla.) in the second round of the WNIT (3/18), 18 boards in the win over Arkansas State (2/13) and seven blocks on three occasions... Finished regular season as the league leader in blocked shots (3.15 pg), free throw percentage (79.4) and defensive rebounds (6.93 pg)... Averaged 21.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steal in FIU’s three SBC tournament games, leading the Golden Panthers to the semifinals for the first time since 2002... Ranked 11th in the nation in shot blocking and 21st in rebounding... Her blocking prowess helped FIU rank seventh in the nation with 5.9 blocks per game... Came up with multiple blocks in 22 games... Scored 20-plus points in 11 games and 10-plus in 26... Recorded 16 double-doubles, including six-straight during conference play (1/21-2/13)... Named to the conference’s Preseason Third Team and was an all-tournament selection in each of FIU’s three in-season tourneys, including being named the MVP of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic... Named Sun Belt Player of the Week for the first time of her career on Jan. 3... Enters 2006-07 less than 100 points shy of entering FIU’s all-time top 20 scoring list.
2004-05: Saw action in all 29 games, making 24 starts... Led the team in blocks and rebounds, wrapping up the season ranked 38th in the nation and third in the Sun Belt Conference with 2.1 blocked shots per game... Her 60 blocks tied Milena Tomova (2003-04) for the then-third-most single-season blocks in FIU history, while her 68 career blocks stood at 10th in the Golden Panther record books... Put up multiple blocks on 16 occasions, including a season-high six versus New Mexico State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament... Led FIU on the glass and was fourth in the conference with 8.6 boards per game... Grabbed double-figure rebounds 12 times, including in six-straight contests (12/28-1/15)... The team’s fifth-leading scorer, averaging 8.0 points an outing... Scored in double figures eight times, including a season-high 18-point performance versus South Alabama (2/19)... Posted six double-doubles, including a 16-point, 16-rebound outing versus Florida Atlantic (12/11)... Shot 48.1 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from long range (4-of-6).
2003-04: Played in 18 games, with a season-high 18-minute outing versus Radford (1/2)... Recorded a season-high seven rebounds, five points, two blocks and two steals in that game... Averaged 1.9 boards per game... Recorded at least one block in seven games.
Prep Career: Averaged 12.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game... Named team’s best center for three-straight years... Team won the Latvian Youth Championship... Won the European Championship as a member of the Latvian National Team.
Personal: Born January 30, 1985... Parents are Ainars and Ira Jekabsone... Has one sibling, Liene (19)... Father played volleyball... Nicknames include the Lasmanian Devil, Laz and Lasi... A Dean’s List student who has been named to the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List for academic excellence in each of the past three seasons... Over the summer of 2005, placed third in the European Junior Championships with teammate Liene Bernsone as part of the Latvian Junior National Team... Also played for Latvia and got engaged this past summer... Off the court, enjoys reading... An international business major.
Career Highs
Points: 31 at Miami (3/18/06)
Field Goals: 12 vs. Gardner-Webb (11/18/05)
Field Goal Attempts: 18 vs. Denver (3/4/06)
Three-Point Goals: 2 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (1/21/06)
Three-Point Attempts: 2, 4 times, last at Miami (3/18/06)
Rebounds: 18 at Arkansas State (2/13/06)
Assists: 4, twice, last vs. South Alabama (2/19/05)
Steals: 2, 8 times, last vs. Denver (3/4/06)
Blocks: 7, 3 times, last at Arkansas State (2/13/06)
Minutes: 43 vs. Cincinnati (3/16/06)
Career Statistics
Year G-GS Min FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. 3P-3PA Pct Reb Avg Ast Avg Blk Stl Pts Avg
03-04 18-0 115 7-18 .389 7-12 .583 0-1 .000 34 1.9 0 0.0 8 4 21 1.2
04-05 29-24 852 100-208 .481 28-41 .683 4-6 .667 250 8.6 27 0.9 60 19 232 8.0
05-06 32-32 1142 193-396 .487 112-137 .818 6-22 .273 325 10.2 44 1.4 91 25 504 15.8
Totals 79-56 2109 300-622 .482 147-190 .774 10-29 .345 609 7.7 71 0.9 159 48 757 9.6
