Central Oklahoma’s Ashley Beckley claimed Player of the Year honors in the North Division and West Texas A&M’s Jamie Simmons took home the same award in the South Division to headline the Lone Star Conference women’s basketball postseason awards announced Tuesday by league officials.
The awards announcement came Tuesday night at a pre-championship banquet in Bartlesville, Okla., where the LSC Basketball Championship tournament is set to begin on Wednesday. Quarterfinal games will be played all day Wednesday, with semifinal games slated for Friday evening and the championship game on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Beckley and Simmons received top honors by collecting the most votes in the balloting of league coaches.
Beckley paced the Bronchos to a second place finish in the North Division with an 11-3 conference mark. The senior averaged a team-high 19.8 points and 8.3 rebounds. She was a first-team All-LSC North pick in 2010.
With Beckley on the All-LSC North Division first team were Texas Woman’s Kayla Weaver, Northeastern State’s Taylor Lewis, Southwestern Oklahoma’s Sumiya Darden and Cameron’s Sabelle Diata.
Simmons averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest to lead the Lady Buffs. The junior was a second-team All-LSC selection last season.
Joining Simmons on the All-LSC South Division first team was Tarleton State’s Shelby Adamson, Angelo State’s Camille Perkins, Abilene Christian’s Mack Lankford and Eastern New Mexico’s Precious Herrin.
Additional hardware was handed out for defensive player, newcomer, freshman and coach of the year.
In the North Division, NSU’s Jasmine Wright earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, UCO’s Britney Morgan was the Freshman of the Year and CU’s Diata and TWU’s Brooke Shepherd shared Newcomer of the Year acclaim. NSU’s Randy Gipson was named Coach of the Year for the second straight year.
In the South, WTAMU’s Aly Sherman earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, while ACU’s Lankford was tabbed for Freshman of the Year. ACU’s Kelsey Smith and ENMU’s Herrin were tabbed Newcomers of the Year, while Tarleton’s Ronnie Hearne earned Coach of the Year recognition.
Overall, more than 40 student-athletes were honored by the all-conference program, including at least one member from 15 of the 16 LSC women’s basketball teams. The awards are voted upon by the league coaches.
2011 LSC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
NORTH DIVISION -- FIRST TEAM
Pos. Player Team Year
F Ashley Beckley Central Oklahoma Sr.
F Kayla Weaver Texas Woman’s Sr.
G Taylor Lewis Northeastern State So.
C Sumiya Darden Southwestern Oklahoma Jr.
F Sabelle Diata Cameron Jr.
NORTH DIVISION -- SECOND TEAM
Pos. Player Team Year
F Jasmine Webb Northeastern State Sr.
G Christin Nichols Southeastern Oklahoma Sr.
F Jessica Hanna Texas Woman’s Jr.
G Mattilyn McIntyre Texas A&M-Commerce Sr.
G Casi Rawls East Central Sr.
NORTH DIVISION -- HONORABLE MENTION
Cameron: F, Josie Stewart, Sr.; G, Alexis Williams, So.;
Central Oklahoma: F, Alex Richardson, Jr.; G, Britney Morgan, Fr.;
East Central: G, Krista Bullis, Sr.;
Northeastern State: F, Cristy Nitz, Jr.;
Southeastern Oklahoma: G, Nikki Nester, Jr.; G, Bailey Welch, So.;
Texas Woman’s: G, Brooke Shepherd, Sr.
NORTH DIVISION -- SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Player of the Year: Ashley Beckley, Central Oklahoma
Defensive Player of the Year: Jasmine Wright, Northeastern State
Freshman of the Year: Britney Morgan, Central Oklahoma
Newcomer of the Year: Sabelle Diata, Cameron and
Brooke Shepherd, Texas Woman’s
Coach of the Year: Randy Gipson, Northeastern State
SOUTH DIVISION -- FIRST TEAM
Pos. Player Team Year
F Jamie Simmons West Texas A&M Jr.
G Shelby Adamson Tarleton State Jr.
G Camille Perkins Angelo State Sr.
G Mack Lankford Abilene Christian Fr.
F Precious Herrin Eastern New Mexico Jr.
SOUTH DIVISION -- SECOND TEAM
Pos. Player Team Year
F Nolisha Markham Midwestern State Sr.
G Autumn Whitaker Abilene Christian Sr.
F Ariel Robertson West Texas A&M R-Fr.
F Ifunanya Mora Incarnate Word Fr.
F Lindsey Mahone Angelo State So.
SOUTH DIVISION -- HONORABLE MENTION
Abilene Christian: C, Kelsey Smith, So.;
Angelo State: F, Paige Weishuhn, Jr.;
Incarnate Word: C, Chloe Wallace, Jr.; G, Katy Cooke, So.;
Midwestern State: F, Cierra Thompson, Jr.; G, Savannah Carver, Jr.;
Tarleton State: C, Kelsey Benford, Sr.; G, Sonya Sundberg, Sr.; C, Kiara Wright , Fr.; F, Morgan Stehling, Jr.;
West Texas A&M: G, Aly Sherman, Jr.
SOUTH DIVISION -- SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Player of the Year: Jamie Simmons, West Texas A&M
Defensive Player of the Year: Aly Sherman, West Texas A&M
Freshman of the Year: Mack Lankford, Abilene Christian
Newcomer of the Year: Kelsey Smith, Abilene Christian and Precious Herrin, Eastern New Mexico
Coach of the Year: Ronnie Hearne, Tarleton State