Grand Canyon University sweeps top women's basketball awards
QUEEN CREEK, AZ - Grand Canyon University swept all four
major Pacific West Conference women's basketball awards after the
Antelopes captured their second straight conference title this
year.
Sophomore guard Rosalyn Nelson (Phoenix, AZ/Deer Valley) has been chosen the 2007-08 PacWest Player of the Year, while junior forward Ashley Hardin (Chandler, AZ/Marcos de Niza) has been selected as the PacWest Newcomer of the Year. Rookie guard Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier Prep - photo) captured the PacWest Freshman of the Year award.
The PacWest Office made the official announcement on March 13 from its information office in Queen Creek, AZ.
Grand Canyon University first-year head coach Trent May, who led the Antelopes to their second consecutive Pacific West Conference Championship, was named the PacWest Coach of the Year.
The conference also unveiled its All-PacWest Women's
Basketball Team with all three Antelopes earning
First Team honors. Grand Canyon landed a total of
four players on the All-Conference squad with senior center
Sara Dalgliesh (Grangeville, ID/Grangeville -
photo) earning Second Team
accolades.
The All-PacWest Women's Basketball Team consisted of 17 players - seven First Team members, seven Second Team members and three players named to the Honor Roll.
With the exception of the coach of the year honors, All-PacWest awards are voted upon by the head coaches of the conference. PacWest bylaws stipulate that all coach of the year awards go to the head coach of the teams that win the conference title.
The top seven vote-getters in the weighted poll receive First Team rewards, while Second Team honors go to those who rank between 8-14. The athlete with the most votes is named the Player of the Year and any athletes who receive votes but fail to crack the Top 14 are considered Honorable Mention All-Conference.
Separate balloting is conducted for Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, two new awards that emanated from the Rookie of the Year honor claimed last season by Nelson. Freshman of the Year must be a first-year student-athlete, or a second-year student with red-shirt freshman status. The Newcomer of the Year award is for any player making her debut in the PacWest.
Nelson finished the season averaging 15.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, ranking second in the PacWest in scoring and 11th in pulling down boards. She totaled 105 steals (3.62 spg.) and doled out 135 assists (4.66 apg.), leading the league in both categories. She was the only player in the league to break the century mark in thefts and led the PacWest in assist/turnover ratio (1.50).
In addition, Nelson is just one of two repeat All-PacWest performers after she earned First Team honors in 2006-07. Hawai‘i Hilo's Sheila Azevedo (Hilo, HI/Waikea) also is a repeat First Team member.
Hardin and Murphy each made the All-PacWest First Team during their debuts in the conference. Hardin averaged 10.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season, stepping up her conference performance on the glass to an 8.5 per game average in league play. She ranked 11th in the league in scoring, second in rebounding, ninth in field goal percentage (44.3%), ninth in free throw shooting (70.7% - 58 for 72), and ninth in steals per game (1.83).
Murphy posted a tremendous rookie campaign for the Antelopes, averaging 15.3 points per contest to end the year fourth in the PacWest in scoring. She was the top freshman scorer in the league and finished the year ranked fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (48.8%).
Murphy averaged 4.4 rebounds per game, landing 16th in the league at the end of the year, while her 78.0% foul shooting (117 for 150) stood fifth. She made the second-most trips to the foul line this season, finished fourth in the league in steals per game (2.38), and ranked ninth in the league in three-pointers made per contest (1.52).
All of Murphy's numbers jumped during the PacWest schedule of games. She averaged 16.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per conference game, while her three-point shooting climbed to 47.1% from 42.3%. During PacWest play, Murphy made 33 of her 44 three-pointers, recorded 46 of her 69 steals and handed out 49 of her 64 assists.
After serving as the assistant coach last season, May took over the head reins this year and promptly earned the Antelopes a repeat title. Grand Canyon finished the season 15-3 in the PacWest and 19-10 overall.
A 5-foot, 10-inch junior forward, Azevedo (photo) was the Vulcans'
lone representative on the First Team this season
after averaging 13.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. She ranked
fifth in the PacWest in scoring, fourth in rebounding, fifth in
shooting (47.5%) and eighth in blocked shots per game (0.67).
She was one of four Hawai‘i Hilo players to make the All-PacWest squad after sophomore guard Jessica Hanato (Kailua-Kona, HI/Konawaena) and junior guard Ashley Kualii (Hilo, HI/Waiakea) each claimed Honorable Mention awards, and sophomore guard Nesha Ann Kimitete Hanato (Kailua-Kona, HI/Konawaena) earned a spot on the Second Team.
Kimitete averaged 10.8 points per game this season, ranking ninth in the league in scoring. Hanato contributed 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest, while Kualii posted 8.2 points and 3.4 boards per outing. Kualii also registered 105 assists, the third-highest total in the league and the second-best per game average (4.20) in the conference.
Dixie State earned a pair of All-PacWest awards in its first year
of eligibility for post-season honors. The Rebels were led by
junior forward Jessica Carver (Layton, UT/Layton -
photo), the PacWest rebounding champion - who
averaged 9.2 boards per contest to claim First
Team honors. She also averaged 15.5 points per contest,
blocked 48 shots and recorded 38 steals.
Junior guard Courtney Boyd (Keokuk, IA/Keokuk) earned Honorable Mention accolades for the Rebels. She posted 109 assists on the season, averaging just under 4.2 per game.
Notre Dame de Namur placed three players on the All-Conference squad. Junior forward Tanaia Keyes (Seattle, WA/Ingraham) was chosen as a First Team selection, while Second Team honors went to sophomore forward Jennifer Dreessen (Danville, CA/San Ramon Valley) and senior guard Corazon Riley (Antioch, CA/Antioch).
Keyes (photo) averaged 8.9 points per game on the season, but
upped her point production to 11.0 per outing during conference
play. Dreessen scored 9.0 points per contest while shooting 53.4%
from the field, and Riley posted a 9.9 points-per-game average with
70 assists for the season.
Hawai‘i Pacific senior guard Ashley Jenkins (Washington, MD/Stephenson) rounded out the All-PacWest First Team by averaging 18.1 points per game to lead the league. She also ranked fifth in rebounding with a 6.3 per contest average and was fourth in doling out assists per game (3.41).
Jenkins (photo) was among the leaders in foul shooting, ranking
third in the conference with an 80.0% rate (104 for 130). She
averaged 3.00 three-pointers made per contest, good enough for
third in the PacWest, and converted 34.0% of her attempts from
beyond the arc, ranking her second in the league.
Chaminade senior forward Simrin Herrington (Eugene, OR/North Eugene), who actually had her wedding during the season, was the lone Silversword listed on the All-Conference squad. She ranked 10th in the league in scoring with a 10.7 points per game average to earn Second Team honors.
BYU-Hawaii round out the All-PacWest squad with a pair of Second Team selections. Freshman guard Richelle Fenenbock (Coeur d'Alene, ID/Lake City) averaged 13.5 points per game to finish sixth in the league, while sophomore guard Agnes Tuilevuka (Suva, Fiji) finished wound up seventh in the conference in scoring with an 11.0 per game average.
For complete Pacific West Women's Basketball Conference Stats, click on - http://www.pacificwestsports.org/sports/mbkb/2007-08/stats/confstat.HTM
