Monday, January 11, 2010

MACON, Ga. – On Monday, the Atlantic Sun Conference announced its weekly women’s basketball award with Kendra Wallace of USC Upstate winning the first league honor of her career. Wallace led the Spartans to a 3-0 week in A-Sun action, thanks to 20-point performances against Lipscomb and ETSU.

Wallace led the Spartans to a trio of firsts thanks her two 20-point games, as USC Upstate beat ETSU and Belmont for the first time and Lipscomb, at Allen Arena, for the first time. Against ETSU, the sophomore guard scored 20 points, including 18 crucial points in the second half, and added five rebounds and an assist. Wallace hit 4-of-6 from behind the arc in the second stanza, pushing USC Upstate out to an eight-point lead midway through the second half with back-to-back trifectas. The Spartans held onto that lead for the 85-78 win.

At Belmont, the Hurricane, W.Va. native posted eight points, hitting two 3-pointers in the first half to help USC Upstate take a 10-point lead, as the Spartans held on for a 57-54 win. Also in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, Wallace scored a game-high 21 points thanks to a season-high tying five 3-pointers to lead Upstate to a 63-51 win against Lipscomb. The interdisciplinary studies major opened up from 3-point land in the second half, hitting 4-of-6, including three 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the half to give the Spartans a 12-point lead, as USC Upstate never let Lipscomb back within five points.

Wallace averaged 11.3 points in the second half during the week and averaged 35.0 minutes per game. She became the fifth player in school history to reach 100 career 3-pointers with her first one against ETSU and the 34th player in school history to reach 500 career points at Lipscomb.

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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.

Other Top Performers
Tierra Brown, Stetson (Jr. - Guard - Orlando, Fla. - Sport Management) – Brown sparked the Hatters to a 2-1 week in A-Sun play, including a sweep of Jacksonville and UNF at the Edmunds Center. The junior guard began her week by nearly leading Stetson all the way back from a 13-point second half deficit on Monday at Belmont with a career-high 23 points and a career-high tying eight assists. In Thursday's 68-62 win against JU, Brown scored 18 points, grabbed a season-high seven rebounds and handed out seven assists. The sport management major followed up that performance with a game-high 15 points in Saturday's 58-56 win against UNF. Brown’s last two points versus the Ospreys, a pair of game-sealing free throws with six seconds left, blunted UNF's comeback attempt.

Courtney Cannon, Campbell (Jr. - Guard - Starkville, Miss. - Accounting) – Cannon recorded her third and fourth double figure scoring games of the season leading Campbell to a 1-2 week mark, averaging 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in the three games. The junior guard posted a season-high 16 points in a win over Longwood, going 8-for-8 from the free throw line and pulling down a season-best six rebounds. After earning her first career start at Mercer, Cannon tallied 13 points off the bench with two steals at Kennesaw State. The Starkville, Miss. native stands as the sixth different Lady Camel to lead the team in scoring this season.

Siarre Evans, ETSU (Sr. - G/F - Griffin, Ga. - Sport Management) – Evans dominated once again for the Lady Bucs, as the preseason player of the year selection led the ETSU women’s basketball team to a 2-1 mark this past week, after averaging 17.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 31.3 minutes of work. Evans ranked first in rebounds, third in rebounding, and tied for seventh in steals this past week. The Griffin, Ga. native started out slow, but finished with a bang, as she posted 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals in the 85-78 loss at USC Upstate on Monday, but the standout guard stepped up with a 7-of-9 shooting effort to finish with 17 points, eight rebounds, and two assists in the 90-59 win at Kennesaw State. Then, on Saturday afternoon against league rival Mercer, Evans came through with the first 20-20 effort in the league this season. The sport management major finished with a game-high 22 points and a career-best 20 rebounds, while dishing out three assists and forcing three steals in the 81-60 win inside the University Center.

Courtney Ford, Mercer (Sr. - Guard - Orange, Calif. - Communications) – Ford led Mercer in scoring in three A-Sun games as the Bears notched a 2-1 mark over the past week. The senior guard tallied 21 points and four steals in Mercer's win against UNF on Monday. In Mercer's next outing, the Orange, Calif. native poured in 17 points while contributing eight rebounds and five steals against Campbell. Against ETSU, Ford netted 20 points, handed out five assists and grabbed eight boards. The communications major ranks among the top-five A-Sun players in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

Shannon Murphy, FGCU (Jr. - Guard - Brighton, Mich. - Management) – Murphy led FGCU to a 3-0 record last week. The Eagles have now won 21 consecutive A-Sun games, with their last conference loss coming 368 days ago against ETSU, 75-67, on Jan. 8, 2009. In FGCU’s 67-47 win at Lipscomb, Murphy led all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-10 from behind the arc. The junior guard also tallied four assists and grabbed three boards. Against UNF, Murphy led all scorers with 17 points in the Eagles’ 58-47 win. The Brighton, Mich. native also nailed five three pointers and grabbed five boards in the win. In the Eagles’ 73-66 win against Jacksonville, Murphy once again led all scorers with 16 points. The management major shot 4-of-8 from the field, 6-of-8 from the charity stripe and dished out five assists.

Haley Nelson, Belmont (So. - P - Scottsboro, Ala. - Early Childhood Education/Physical Education) – Nelson continues to reign as one of only three A-Sun players averaging a double-double. After helping the Bruins open A-Sun play at home, the sophomore finished the week averaging 11.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Against Stetson, Nelson netted 14 points, pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds and recorded four blocks. Three days later against USC Upstate, the Scottsboro, Ala. native scored nine points and collected a team-high seven rebounds.