McNeese State?s Ashlyn Baggett Named Women?s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year
FRISCO, Texas – McNeese State junior Ashlyn Baggett has
been named the Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the
Year, the league office announced Thursday in conjunction with the release of
the women’s basketball all-academic teams.
Baggett led the
Cowgirls to their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance after posting a
26-8 overall record with a 13-3 mark in conference play. A native of Iota, La.
(Iota H.S.), Baggett helped McNeese successfully defend its Southland
Conference tournament title and was named to the all-tournament team. The
two-time first-time all-conference selection currently ranks 10th all-time in
the Southland in 3-point field goal percentage (.366). Baggett led the Cowgirls
in scoring and ranked seventh in the conference with 15.4 points per game. She
also was second on the team in assists (2.5) and fourth in steals (1.4).
Baggett scored her 1,000th career point against LSU on Dec. 16, 2011, and
became McNeese’s all-time 3-point career leader against Stephen F. Austin on
Feb. 4, 2012, passing the old mark of 178. Her 201 made 3-pointers is the
seventh most in Southland history.
A nursing major with
a 3.76 grade-point average, Baggett is the second player to be named the
women’s basketball student-athlete of the year twice, joining Maryann Abanobi
from UT Arlington, who received the honor in 2006 and 2007.
There were two
automatic selections on the all-academic teams including Baggett and Sam
Houston State junior Britni Martin. Each picked up first-team all-conference honors
following the season. The other eight all-academic honorees were selected by a
vote of the league's head coaches, sports information contacts and academic
advisors.
Martin a native of
Conroe, Texas, is a business major with a 3.45 GPA and makes her second
consecutive appearance on the all-academic team. Other first-team selections
include McNeese State junior Caitlyn Baggett, Northwestern State senior Jordi
James and Nicholls State sophomore KK Babin. Caitlyn Baggett, the twin sister
of Ashlyn Baggett, is a two-time all-academic selection and was a second-team
all-conference selection. Caitlyn Baggett is a nursing major with a 3.65 GPA. James,
a McPhearson, Kan., native, has a 3.41 GPA in biology. Babin, a native of Gonzales,
La., carries a 3.16 GPA in nursing.
Second-team honorees
include Sam Houston State junior Sequeena Thomas, Central Arkansas senior Marci
Moffitt and junior Micah Rice, UT Arlington senior Bianca Sauls and Lamar
graduate student Ang Green.
Thomas, a two-time
all-academic selection, is a native of Allentown, Pa., and carries a 3.16 GPA
in communications. Moffitt, a native of Batesville, Ark., is a pre-physical
therapy majors and boasts the highest GPA on the all-academic team with a 3.79.
Rice, who hails from Little Rock, Ark., makes her second appearance on the
all-academic team with a 3.55 GPA in finance. Sauls, a Pflugerville, Texas,
native, has a 3.64 GPA while double-majoring in economics and broadcast
communications. Completing the all-academic team is two-time selection Green.
The Silsbee, Texas, native has a 3.76 GPA in communications.
McNeese State, Sam
Houston State and Central Arkansas led all schools with two members on the
all-academic teams. Northwestern State, Nicholls State, UT Arlington and Lamar
each had one apiece.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists
of one administrator from each of the 12 member schools, voted for the
student-athlete of the year.
The student-athlete of the year award is presented to the
student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All
nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and demonstrated
achievement in athletics for at least two years at the nominating institution.
The all-academic teams are voted
on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from
each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0
cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating
institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition
to qualify for the all-academic squad.
2011-12 Southland Conference Women’s
Basketball All-Academic Teams
|
First Team
|
|
|
Name
|
University
|
Class
|
Hometown
|
GPA
|
Major
|
|
Ashlyn Baggett^,1,2
|
McNeese State
|
Jr.
|
Iota, La.
|
3.76
|
Nursing
|
|
Britni Martin1,2
|
Sam Houston State
|
Jr.
|
Conroe, Texas
|
3.45
|
Kinesiology
|
|
Caitlyn Baggett2
|
McNeese State
|
Jr.
|
Iota, La.
|
3.66
|
Nursing
|
|
Jordi James
|
Northwestern State
|
Sr.
|
McPhearson, Kan.
|
3.41
|
Biology
|
|
KK Babin
|
Nicholls State
|
So.
|
Gonzales, La.
|
3.16
|
Nursing
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Team
|
|
|
Name
|
University
|
Class
|
Hometown
|
GPA
|
Major
|
|
Sequeena Thomas2
|
Sam Houston State
|
Jr.
|
Allentown, Pa.
|
3.16
|
Communications
|
|
Marci Moffitt
|
Central Arkansas
|
Sr.
|
Batesville, Ark.
|
3.79
|
Pre-Physical Therapy
|
|
Micah Rice2
|
Central Arkansas
|
Jr.
|
Little Rock, Ark.
|
3.55
|
Finance
|
|
Bianca Sauls
|
UT Arlington
|
Sr.
|
Pflugerville, Texas
|
3.64
|
Economics & Broadcast Communications
|
|
Ang Green2
|
Lamar
|
Gr.
|
Silsbee, Texas
|
3.76
|
Communications
|
^2011-12
Southland Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year
1Automatic
selection
2Two-time all-academic
selection
3Three-time
all-academic selection