Big Sky Announces Women’s Basketball All-Conference Team and Award Winners
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OGDEN, Utah (March 11, 2013) - The Big Sky Conference has announced the Women’s Basketball All-Conference team and individual award winners for the 2012-13 season. The awards were decided by a vote of the league’s 11 head coaches.
Katie Baker became the ninth Montana player in Big Sky history to earn the league’s Most Valuable Player Award. The senior was a unanimous First-Team selection. This is the third year in a row Baker has been named to the All-Conference First Team.
Baker helped her team to the regular-season title and the right to host the Big Sky Conference Championship. She averages 13.6 points a game and 7.3 rebounds a game. Baker, a senior from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, has four 20+ point games, seven 10+ rebound games, and has recorded seven double-doubles this season.
For the second year in a row, Northern Colorado’s D’shara Strange has been selected as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. She was also named Outstanding Freshman the 2010-11 season. Strange, a junior from Fountain, Colo., ranks second in the conference averaging 15.0 points per game. She averages 7.2 rebounds a game, which ranks eighth in the conference. Strange was a unanimous First-Team Selection.
Hayley Hodgins of Eastern Washington was named the league’s Outstanding Freshman, and Angela Misa of Portland State was selected as Top Newcomer. Hodgins, from Pasco, Wash., ranks eighth in the Big Sky in 3-point field goal percentage with .373. EWU hasn’t had a player named Outstanding Freshman since the 1992-93 season, when Kristy Missall was named. Misa, a junior from Oceanside, Calif., and transfer from Oregon State, ranks second in the Big Sky in rebounds as she averages 10.2 a game. She played her last game of the season on Feb. 9 before she was injured.
Others named to the first team were Lexie Nelson, Eastern Washington; Amy Patton, Northern Arizona; Kylie Kuhns, Sacramento State and Kenzie De Boer, Montana.
The Big Sky Conference tournament will be March 13, 15-16 in Missoula, Mont. The three quarterfinal games will be played on Wednesday starting at 3 p.m. Mountain. The winners of the quarterfinals will advance to the semifinals played on Friday starting at 11 a.m. And the championship will be played at 2 p.m. Mountain on Saturday. All games can be seen for Free on Big Sky TV with Peter Young and Jay McMillin having the call.
First Team: Katie Baker, Montana; Lexie Nelson, Eastern Washington; Kenzie De Boer, Montana; Amy Patton, Northern Arizona; D’shara Strange, Northern Colorado and Kylie Kuhns, Sacramento State
Second Team: Kaela Oakes, Idaho State; Ashleigh Vella, Idaho State; Lauren Oosdyke, Northern Colorado; Rachel Semansky, Montana State and Courtney VanBrocklin, Portland State
Honorable Mention: Carrie Ojeda, Eastern Washington; Madi Buck, North Dakota; Angela Misa, Portland State; Fantasia Hilliard, Sacramento State; Alle Moreno, Sacramento State and Hailey Mandelko, Southern Utah
Most Valuable Player: Katie Baker, Sr., Montana
Defensive Player of the Year: D’shara Strange, Jr., Northern Colorado
Top Newcomer: Angela Misa, Jr., Portland State
Outstanding Freshman: Hayley Hodgins, Eastern Washington