Reah P. Nicholson 03/31/10
CSU Bakersfield claims top NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball All-Independent honors
DURHAM,
N.C. - CSU Bakersfield guard Katie Williams was named Player of the
Year, North Carolina Central guard Joanna Miller was selected as
Newcomer of the Year, while CSU Bakersfield head coach Tim La Kose was
honored as Coach of the Year Wednesday morning, as the 2009-10 NCAA
Division I All-Independent Women’s Basketball Team was announced. The
team was voted on by both the independent head coaches and sports
information directors.CSU Bakersfield, which posted the top record among the seven NCAA Division I Independent women’s basketball programs with a 16-13 mark, led the way with two first-team selections and the Player and Coach of the Year honors. La Kose led his team to their second consecutive NCAA Division I winning season as they became the first CSU Bakersfield team to earn a postseason appearance since turning Division I. The Runners were selected to participate in the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
Williams averaged 18.1 points per game to lead her team in scoring, while sitting second on the team in rebounds and blocks with 192 and 16, respectively. She set a single-game record for steals with 13 and recorded a team-high seven double-doubles. The senior from Las Vegas, Nev., netted a career-high 35 points against San Jose State, while scoring 20 or more points in 12 outings this season. Williams reached double-figures in 27 of the Runners’ 29 games this season, while finishing the year with 55 3-pointers.
Miller ended her rookie campaign with 496 points, which is a single-season total only three other Lady Eagles have reached in the past 20 years. Her 496 points is the most points scored by a freshman in NCCU history. The Los Angeles, Calif., native is fifth in Lady Eagle history for scoring average in a season after notching 19.1 points per contest. Miller scored 20 or more points in 14 games this season and netted a season-high 32 points against Maryland Eastern Shore. She recorded three double-doubles, while scoring in double-figures in 24 of the Lady Eagles’ 26 games this season. Miller was also a two time All-Tournament team selection.
Joining Williams and Miller on the All-Independent First Team are Phynique Allen of CSU Bakersfield, Raven Berry of SIU Edwardsville and Vontisha Woods of Winston-Salem State. Allen averaged 17.2 points and 3.4 rebounds, while netting a career-high 36 points in the season finale against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Berry notched 12.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest, becoming the first freshman to lead SIU Edwardsville in both categories. Woods averaged just under a double-double on the season with 9.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. With 17 blocked shots this season, she now sits among Winston-Salem State’s top-10 in career blocked shots.
The All-Independent Second Team was led by Longwood and Seattle with two student-athletes apiece. Longwood’s Brittanni Billups and Chelsea Coward took up two spots on the second team. Billups racked up 11.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per outing for the Lancers, while notching three double-doubles. She set a new career-high in points three times over a five-game stretch, scoring 25 against Troy. Coward, a freshman from Mechanicsburg, Va., averaged 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, leading the Lancers in scoring. She totaled three double-doubles and netted a season-high 21 points twice during the season.
Seattle’s Ashley Brown and Tatiana Heck top the next two spots on the second team. Brown led Seattle’s offense with 13.1 points per game, while making 87 3-pointers on the year. She netted a career-high 24 points against Portland and earned two All-Tournament Team honors, including a Most Valuable Player recognition. Heck, who was named the Most Valuable Player for the Redhawks, was second on the team in scoring and rebounding with 11.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest.
Rounding out the second team is Savannah State’s Crissa Jackson, who finished the season as the Tigers’ leading scorer averaging 9.3 points per game, while leading the team in assists and field goals made. She averaged 2.9 rebounds per outing and was second on the team in steals with 56 on the season. The sophomore scored in double-figures in 13 contests.