All-RSC Women's Basketball Teams & Awards announced: Tia King Player of the Year
NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- The 2017-18 All-River States Conference Women's Basketball Teams & Awards are announced at RiverStatesConference.com, and IU East senior guard Tia King leads the honorees as the RSC Player of the Year. It is the second year in a row that King garnered player of the year accolades.
King, a 5-9 senior from Indianapolis, Ind., leads the RSC in scoring and ranks seventh in NAIA Division II at 20.5 ppg. Her 615 total points this year rank fourth in the country. King's season also includes 7.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, 43-percent shooting from the field and 70 made 3-pointers.
King leads an All-RSC First Team that includes 10 players. The All-RSC Second Team includes 10 players as well. Also named was an RSC Women's Basketball Champions of Character Team, which has one player chosen from each school who best represents the NAIA Champions of Character core values of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship. The All-RSC teams were voted on and nominated by the 13 head coaches in the conferece.
Alice Lloyd College head coach John Mills was picked as the RSC Coach of the Year. The Eagles were picked in the preseason to finish fifth in their division and 10th overall in the conference, but they take a record of 22-4 overall, 15-3 RSC into the playoffs as one of the No. 1 seeds and RSC West Division champions.
Asbury University freshman guard Autumn Herriford, a 5-10 native of Lexington, Ky., was named the RSC Newcomer of the Year. Herriford, who averaged 13.4 points per game overall and 15.1 points per game in conference play, earned a spot on the All-RSC Second Team and was the top vote-getter who was a freshman or transfer this year.
Coming in highly on the All-RSC First Team and finishing second in the player of the year race was IU Kokomo senior guard Deja Felder. She is second in the conference and 11th nationally in scoring at 19.5 ppg and the RSC leader with 82 3-point field goals made.
University of Rio Grande forward Alexis Payne was another high vote-getter on the first team, and she led the RedStorm to the RSC regular-season championship. Payne is averaging a team-high 14.5 points per game to go along with 6.1 rebounds per game for No. 22-ranked Rio Grande (27-3, 15-2 RSC).
Rio Grande is one of two schools with two players on the All-RSC First Team with sophomore guard Sydney Holden (12.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg) also making it for the RedStorm. IU East also garnered two players on the first team with junior guard Mackenzie Campbell ranking third in the conference at 16.8 points per game.
Alice Lloyd College guard Kayla Wilson made the first team at 13.3 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game for the RSC West Division champion Eagles.
Also on the All-RSC First Team were conference rebounding leader Emma Stille (13.9 ppg, 14.8 rpg) from Carlow University, forward Sam Weir (12.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg) from Point Park University, guard Savannah Shamblin (12.1 ppg) from WVU Tech and guard Annie Thomas (14.5 ppg) from IU Southeast.
The All-RSC Second Team had 10 players from nine different schools. Point Park led the second team with two honorees there. See below for the full listing of this year's all-conference honorees.
2017-18 ALL-RIVER STATES CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS & AWARDS
RSC Player of the Year: Tia King, Sr., IU East
RSC Coach of the Year: John Mills, Alice Lloyd
RSC Newcomer of the Year: Autumn Herriford, Fr., Asbury
ALL-RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FIRST TEAM
Name | School | Pos. | Cl. |
Tia King | IU East | Sr. | G |
Deja Felder | IU Kokomo | Sr. | G |
Alexis Payne | Rio Grande | Sr. | F |
Mackenzie Campbell | IU East | Jr. | G |
Kayla Wilson | Alice Lloyd | Sr. | G |
Emma Stille | Carlow | So. | F |
Sam Weir | Point Park | Jr. | F |
Savannah Shamblin | WVU Tech | Jr. | G |
Annie Thomas | IU Southeast | Sr. | G |
Sydney Holden | Rio Grande | So. | G |
ALL-RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SECOND TEAM
Name | School | Pos. | Cl. |
Haleigh Yazell | Midway | G | So. |
Jasmine Smith | Rio Grande | F | Jr. |
Autumn Herriford | Asbury | G | Fr. |
Michelle Burns | Point Park | G | Fr. |
Miranda Wilson | Alice Lloyd | G | Sr. |
Maryssa Agurs | Point Park | G | Sr. |
Dejianna Butler | IU Kokomo | F | Sr. |
Kelsey Kirkpatrick | Brescia | G | Sr. |
Brittney Justice | WVU Tech | G | Fr. |
Kristen Miller | IU East | G | Sr. |
RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER TEAM
School | Name |
Alice Lloyd | Kayla Wilson |
Asbury | Bethany Koons |
Brescia | Jade Robinson |
Carlow | Caroline Willig |
Cincinnati Christian | Makenzie Tolson |
IU East | Haley Conway |
IU Kokomo | Whitney Williamson |
IU Southeast | Baylee Krueger |
Midway | Allyson Callahan |
Ohio Christian | Kiara Rohrer |
Point Park | Shaniya Rivers |
Rio Grande | Abbey Wendel |
WVU Tech | Laura Requena |