INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference presented its 2012-13 Men’s and Women’s Basketball honors and awards on Friday, during the inaugural G-MAC Basketball Championships. Between the semifinal games at Cedarville University (Men’s) and Trevecca Nazarene University (Women’s), the selected student-athletes were recognized.
The coaches selected the five-member First and Second All-Conference teams, and included a six-member Honorable Mention squad. In addition to the All-Conference teams, the coaches named a Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year, and a Player of the Year.
The Women’s Tournament will take place in Nashville, Tennessee starting tonight with #3 Cedarville taking on #2 Urbana, followed by #4 Central State taking on the top seed and host Trevecca Nazarene.
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: Women’s Coach of the Year
GARY VAN ATTA
Trevecca Nazarene University
Coach of the Year honors goes to the top seeded Trevecca Nazarene Head Coach, Gary Van Atta, who guided his squad to a one-loss conference regular-season title.
Last season, the Trojans were 10-18 overall and recorded its second-straight losing season. This season, Van Atta guided a balanced team that finished 19-7 overall and an impressive 7-1 in conference. The team’s only loss came on the road to Urbana. However, the team had some eye-opening wins, highlighted by its 102-53 G-MAC opening win over Cedarville University, which finished the regular-season at 18-8 and recently won the NCCAA regional championship, and to prove it wasn’t a bad night, TNU beat the Yellow Jackets at Cedarville, 78-40.
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: Women’s Player of the Year
CIARA GEIGER - Guard
Sophomore - Urbana University
Ciara Geiger is the conference’s leading scorer at 18.4 points per game and was also the most efficient three point shooter in the conference at 42%. She was named G-MAC Athlete of the Week a coference leading five times, out of 15 total weeks.
Geiger scored 20 or more points in eleven games this season, almost double that of any other player in the conference, and more than any team had total. Cedarville as a team posted ten 20-point performances. She had an addition ten games scoring 15 or more points - 21 total, while scoring less than ten points just twice (at Wayne State and at Wright State) Her most impressive performance was the 31 point outburst she had against Saint Francis (December 15). She led her team in scoring 21 times (out of 28 total games).
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: Women’s Freshman of the Year
KENNEDY BOGGS - Guard
Freshman - Urbana University
Kennedy Boggs averaged 8.1 points per game this season, ranking 16th best in the conference and second among all freshmen. Boggs stood out defensively with her energy and aggressive on-the-ball defense. She ended the regular-season ranking fourth overall in steals with just over two per game.
Her season was highlighted against St. Joseph’s (December 1) when she recorded a season- and career-high 15 points, while adding five assists and six rebounds. She had eight games in which she scored 10 or more points.
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The Great Midwest Athletic Conference also presented the All-Conference First, Second, and Honorable Mention teams during the semifinals of the Women’s Basketball Championships. Below is a list of the All-Conference teams. All conference awards and honors were nominated and voted upon by the G-MAC coaches.
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: Women’s All-Conference First Team
LAURA CAMPBELL Ursuline College Forward Senior
CHRISTINA CURTNER Trevecca Nazarene University Guard Sophomore
CIARA GEIGER Urbana University Guard Sophomore
KAYLA JENERETTE Cedarville University Guard Junior
RACHEL RABY Trevecca Nazarene University Center Senior
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: Women’s All-Conference Second Team
TANIJA BEASLEY Central State University Forward Senior
BRITT BELL Trevecca Nazarene University Forward Sophomore
KATE FRANCISCO Urbana University Center Sophomore
DeVONYEA JOHNSON Urbana University Guard Junior
SHAKEIRA LANG Central State University Guard Sophomore
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: Women’s All-Conference Honorable Mention Team
KENNEDY BOGGS Urbana University Guard Freshman
KAYLA LINKOUS Cedarville University Forward Freshman
ANNA MITCHELL Trevecca Nazarene University Forward Junior
BECKY ORCHARD Cedarville University Guard Junior
ANISSA RAGLAND Trevecca Nazarene University Center Senior
RAEGAN RYAN Cedarville University Guard Sophomore
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Every match of the 2012-13 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship is being web-streamed for free with live video, audio, and stats at G-MACsports.com. Photo galleries, video, and game recaps will also be available on G-MACsports.com following the completion of the tournament. To view the streaming broadcasts, simply click the banner ad on the main page for Live Streaming, or click Live Broadcast under the multimedia tab in the main dropdown menu.