Courtney Duever Southland Women’s Basketball Player of the Year
Southland Conference
KATY, Texas – Central Arkansas senior center Courtney Duever has been named the 2013-14 Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, the conference office announced Tuesday in conjunction with the release of the all-conference basketball teams.
Additionally, Stephen F. Austin junior forward Porsha Roberts earned defensive player of the year honors, Central Arkansas freshman Brianna Mullins was tabbed the league’s top freshman and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Jasmine Shaw was named the newcomer of the year. A&M-Corpus Christi coach Royce Chadwick was named the Southland Coach of the Year.
Duever, a native of Austin, Texas (Westlake H.S.), helped lead the Sugar Bears to a third-place finish in the conference and was a vital part in the league’s top scoring defense. Duever led UCA with 15.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, which ranked ninth and fourth, respectively, in conference. Duever recorded 14 double-doubles on the season, including a 36-point, 12-rebound performance against Oral Roberts on Feb. 22. The 36 points is the second most points scored by an individual against a conference opponent this season. Duever helped UCA on the defensive end, allowing opponents to shoot only 39.4 percent and average a league-low 55.5 points per game. The UCA center led the Sugar Bears with a block per game, which is seventh in the conference, and she led the league with 7.2 defensive rebounds per game.
Duever is only second the Central Arkansas player to be selected as the Southland player of the year, joining former teammate Megan Herbert, who won the honor three times from 2011-13. Duever is making her second all-conference appearance, having been named to the third team a season ago.
Roberts led Stephen F. Austin to its league-leading 16th overall Southland regular-season title. It is the first time SFA has claimed the regular-season honors since 2010. Roberts, the junior from Waco, Texas (La Vega H.S.), led the Ladyjacks in rebounding (9.4) and blocks (2.1). Roberts’s 2.1 blocks per contest ranks second in the league and her rebounding is ninth best. Roberts recorded seven double-doubles on the year. Roberts finished the season with a league-high 64 blocks and grabbed 235 total rebounds, including a conference-high 19 rebounds against Lamar on Feb. 13. Roberts is the second SFA player to earn defender of the year honors, joining Nikki Carr (2008).
Mullins was second on the Sugar Bears with 10.2 points per game, which was fourth overall among conference freshman. The Rosston, Ark. (Nevada H.S.), native, was the second-best freshman from the charity stripe, shooting 79.2 percent (61-for-77), which was tops on UCA. She also finished second on the team in assists (2.2) and 3-pointers made (0.9), third in field goal percentage (42.5), and fourth in rebounding (3.6) and steal (0.7). Mullins is the second Sugar Bear to earn freshman of the year honors joining Herbert (2010).
Shaw made an immediate impact for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after transferring from Marshall. The senior guard from Cincinnati, Ohio (Winton Woods H.S.), led the Islanders and was seventh in the Southland in scoring with 15.2 points per game. She was also tops in the league in 3-point percentage, making 40.7 percent (74-for-182) of the shots. Her 2.6 made 3-pointers per game was second in the league. Shaw also led the Islanders with 44 steals and was 11th in the league with 1.5 swipes per game. Shaw is the first A&M-Corpus Christi player to be named the league’s top newcomer.
Chadwick earned his second coach of the year award after guiding the Islanders to an 18-11 overall record and an 11-7 conference mark to tie for fourth in the final league standings. A&M-Corpus Christi had a 14-game improvement from last season after it finished 4-25 overall in Chadwick’s first season. The 14-game differential is the best turnaround in the country this season. The Islanders had won only eight total conference games the previous three seasons before notching 11 league victories this year. Chadwick is the first Islander coach to be named the coach of the year, and he is the first coach in league history to win the award at two different institutions (Stephen F. Austin, 1997).
Duever, a two-time all-conference selection, is joined on the first team by Roberts, another two-time selection, Nicholls sophomore guard Emani White, Lamar senior guard Gia Ayers and Houston Baptist junior forward Shanice Steenholdt. White leads the league in scoring (19.5) and steals (2.2). She also ranks fourth in minutes played (34.4) eighth in free throw percentage (78.5) and 3-pointers made (2.1), 10th in 3-point percentage (36.0) and 15th in assists (2.9). Ayers leads the conference in assists (5.5) and ranks second in steals (2.1) and minutes played (35.5), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), fifth in scoring (16.1) and 11th in 3-pointers per game (2.0). Steenholdt, who earns first-team honors in her first season in the league, ranks second in scoring (18.2), third in rebounding (9.8), blocks (1.8) field goal percentage (54.9) and eighth in steals (1.8).
The second team was comprised of Shaw, McNeese State sophomore guard Allison Baggett (17.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.5 apg), Sam Houston State junior post player Angela Beadle (15.8 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.6 bpg), Lamar junior forward Dominique Edwards (15.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.1 apg) and McNeese senior forward Cecilia Okoye (12.0 ppg, 9.1 rpg). The third-team choices were Northwestern State senior forward Trudy Armstead (14.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Oral Roberts senior guard Christian Key (14.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.1 apg), Nicholls senior guard KK Babin (10.1 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.0 spg), Northwestern State sophomore guard Keisha Lee (14.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.2 apg) and Southeastern Louisiana sophomore forward Nanna Pool (12.0 ppg, 10.7 rpg).
Four first-team all-conference selections also highlight the five-member all-defensive team, including Roberts, the defensive player of the year. Other first-team selections joining her on the all-defensive team are Lamar’s Ayers, Nicholls’ White and UCA’s Duever. Abilene Christian freshman forward Suzzy Dimba earned all-defensive honors after playing a vital role one of the conference’s top defense. Dimba averaged 6.7 defensive rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game for the Wildcats this season.
Eleven conference teams placed at least one member on the all-conference teams with Lamar, McNeese State, Nicholls and Northwestern State each with two selections. Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi had one all-league honoree. Abilene Christian had one student-athlete earn all-defensive honors.
Three all-conference players were also recognized last season. KK Babin earns all-conference honors for the third consecutive season, while Duever and Roberts earned all-conference honors for the second time. Additionally, six student-athletes were named honorable mention all-conference after receiving votes from at least 25 percent of the coaches and sports information directors.
All three all-conference teams and the all-defensive team are listed below.
The Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament begins Thursday at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The first four games of the tournament will be streamed live for free on the Southland Conference Digital Network, including Southland.org and the league’s iPhone and Android apps. The semifinals of the women’s tournament will be available solely on ESPN3 while the championship game will be carried exclusively by CBS Sports Network. Postgame coverage and trophy presentation following the championship game will be streamed live for free on the SLCDN. Tickets for the tournament are available through Ticketmaster or at the Merrell Center box office.
2013-14 All-Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Teams
|
First Team |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
|
Courtney Duever2 |
Central Arkansas |
C |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas |
|
Porsha Roberts2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
C |
Jr. |
Waco, Texas |
|
Emani White |
Nicholls |
G |
So. |
New Orleans, La. |
|
Gia Ayers |
Lamar |
G |
Sr. |
Bryan, Texas |
|
Shanice Steenholdt |
Houston Baptist |
F |
Jr. |
Roswell, N.M. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Team |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
|
Jasmine Shaw |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
G |
Sr. |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
|
Allison Baggett |
McNeese State |
G |
So. |
Iota, La. |
|
Angela Beadle |
Sam Houston State |
P |
Jr. |
Austin, Texas |
|
Dominique Edwards |
Lamar |
F |
Jr. |
Grand Prairie, Texas |
|
Cecilia Okoye |
McNeese State |
F |
Sr. |
Mansfield, Texas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Third Team |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
|
Trudy Armstead |
Northwestern State |
F |
Sr. |
Dallas, Texas |
|
Christian Key |
Oral Roberts |
G |
Sr. |
Tulsa, Okla. |
|
KK Babin3 |
Nicholls |
G |
Sr. |
Gonzales, La. |
|
Keisha Lee |
Northwestern State |
G |
So. |
Denham Springs, La. |
|
Nanna Pool |
Southeastern Louisiana |
F |
So. |
Magnolia, Miss. |
Honorable Mention: Aja Gibson, Southeastern Louisiana; Renata Marquez, Abilene Christian; Tierany Henderson, Stephen F. Austin; Janelle Perez, Northwestern State; Suzzy Dimba, Abilene Christian; Brianna Mullins, Central Arkansas.
2013-14 Southland Conference Women’s All-Defensive Teams
|
Player |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
|
Porsha Roberts2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
C |
Jr. |
Waco, Texas |
|
Gia Ayers |
Lamar |
G |
Sr. |
Bryan, Texas |
|
Emani White |
Nicholls |
G |
So. |
New Orleans, La. |
|
Courtney Duever |
Central Arkansas |
C |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas |
|
Suzzy Dimba |
Abilene Christian |
F |
Fr. |
Lubbock, Texas |
Player of the Year: Courtney Duever, Central Arkansas
Newcomer of the Year: Jasmine Shaw, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Freshman of the Year: Brianna Mullins, Central Arkansas
Defensive Player of the Year: Porsha Roberts, Stephen F. Austin
Coach of the Year: Royce Chadwick, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
2 Two-Time All-Conference Selection
3 Three-Time All-Conference Selection