Tuesday, March 03, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - With the Atlantic Sun Conference readying for its 24th annual Women's Basketball Championship in Nashville this week, the league office released its 2008-09 All-Conference selections Tuesday morning. Top-seed ETSU's Siarre Evans claimed Player of the Year honors and teammate Latisha Belcher joined her as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year selection.

Evans, a junior out of Griffin, Ga., finished the regular season as the league’s leader in both scoring and rebounding. As the only player in the A-Sun to average a double-double, the sport management major closed the season on high note, averaging 25.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in the season’s final week, including a career-high 35-point effort against USC Upstate. Evans led the league in double-doubles, racking up 16 for the season. This marks Evans’ third First-Team selection in as many years.

Belcher, the 2008 Atlantic Sun Championship MVP, led the league with 3.07 steals per game this season, ranking 11th in the nation as well. Junior TaRonda Wiles joined her Lady Buc teammates as a postseason honoree, earning First-Team honors for the first time in her career. Wiles enters championship week ranking second in the A-Sun in scoring behind Evans at 16 points per game. Regular season champion FGCU earned its initial First-Team selections in school history as sophomore Adrianne McNally and junior Chelsea Lyles earned honors averaging 14.4 points and 13.9, respectively, good for fourth and sixth in the A-Sun. Belmont senior post Jessica Bobbitt rounds out the First Team honorees after ranking ninth in scoring at 12.8 points per game and leading the league in blocks with 2.45 per contest.

Belcher leads the Second-Team, averaging 12.5 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game landing her 10th and fourth in the conference, respectively. Joining Belcher as Second Team honorees are Mercer’s Dominique Chism and LaToya Jackson, Belmont’s Amber Rockwell and Kennesaw State’s Jennifer Baker.

FGCU’s Kelsey Jacobson earned Freshman of the Year honors, helping the Eagles reload after losing a pair of potent seniors in Chelsea Dermyer and Delia De La Torre. Jacobson led the A-Sun in 3-point percentage (44.4) and 3-pointers made (80). UNF’s Brittany Kirkland and USC Upstate’s Kendra Wallace earned unanimous All-Freshman selections. Kirkland led the Lady Ospreys in scoring (11.1 ppg) and minutes played (31.0), while Wallace ranked second for the Spartans in scoring with 12 points a contest and led from long distance, hitting on 36.7 pct. from 3-point range. Belmont Cacy Burtnett and ETSU’s Gwen Washington finished off the All-Freshman selections.

FGCU’s Karl Smesko claimed a regular season conference crown for the first time in the program’s existence as his squad amassed a 17-3 conference mark earning him Coach of the Year. The 2007 NCAA Division II national runner-up, the Eagles have earned their second WNIT bid in as many years of eligibility.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.