CONWAY - The Southland Conference women’s player of the year award is staying at Central Arkansas for another year.
Senior center Courtney Duever was named player of the year Tuesday by the Southland, following former teammate Megan Herbert, who earned the honor three consecutive seasons (2011-2013) until exhausting her eligibility.
Duever, of Austin, Texas, has averaged a team-high 15 points and 9.4 rebounds per game this season. She has finished with at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in 14 games and had seven games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Sugar Bears (18-11), who will play Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or McNeese State at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the Southland Tournament in Katy, Texas.
“This team this year, they’re incredible,” said Duever, who also was named to the league’s all-defensive team. “It’s a new group of girls that we’ve never played with. We’re working good together.”
UCA guard Brianna Mullins was voted the Southland’s freshman of the year and was an All-Southland honorable mention. Mullins, of Nevada High School, is UCA’s second-leading scorer averaging 10.2 points per game. She is shooting 79.2 percent (61 of 77) from the free-throw line and 38.8 percent (26 of 67) from three-point range.
Coming off a 15-15 season in her first year at UCA, Coach Sandra Rushing was hopeful that Mullins and classmate Maggie Proffitt (10.0 ppg) would contribute for the Sugar Bears this season, but they have exceeded her expectations.
“You know what talent you’re getting, but you don’t know what they’re going to give you throughout the year, working with a new team and a new philosophy,” Rushing said. “I think these players have stepped up and really showed some bright moments throughout the year.”
Duever averaged 9.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in her first three seasons at UCA in the shadow of Herbert, but the 2013-2014 season was Duever’s opportunity to shine and she’s taken full advantage of it, Rushing said.
“This past summer, she lived in the weight room,” Rushing said. “She lived in the gym because she wanted her senior year to be successful. It has at this point, but I’d like to be able to take this team to the NCAA. We’d like to win this tournament for our seniors.”
All-Southland women
FIRST TEAM
PLAYER SCHOOL POS. CLASS
Courtney Duever Central Arkansas C Sr.
Porsha Roberts Stephen F. Austin C Jr.
Emani White Nicholls State G So.
Gia Ayers Lamar G Sr.
Shanice Steenholdt Houston Baptist F Jr.
SECOND TEAM
Jasmine Shaw TAMU-Corpus Christi G Sr.
Allison Baggett McNeese State G So.
Angela Beadle Sam Houston State F Jr.
Dominique Edwards Lamar F Jr.
Cecilia Okoye McNeese State F Sr.
THIRD TEAM
Trudy Armstead Northwestern (La.) St. F Sr.
Christian Key Oral Roberts G Sr.
KK Babin Nicholls State G Sr.
Keisha Lee Northwestern (La.) St. G So.
Nanna Pool SE Louisiana F So.
HONORABLE MENTION
Brianna Mullins, Central Arkansas; Aja Gibson, Southeastern Louisiana; Renata Marquez, Abilene Christian; Tierany Henderson, Stephen F. Austin; Janelle Perez, Northwestern (La.) State; Suzzy Dimba, Abilene Christian
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
PLAYER SCHOOL POS. CLASS
Courtney Duever Central Arkansas C Sr.
Porsha Roberts Stephen F. Austin C Jr.
Gia Ayers Lamar G Sr.
Emani White Nicholls State G So.
Suzzy Dimba Abilene Christian F Fr.
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
Sports, Pages 24 on 03/12/2014