Sun Conference Women’s Basketball Awards Revealed for 2016-17 Season
Donnie Smith
LAKELAND, Fla.—On the eve of The Sun Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, the top performers of the 2016-17 season were honored for their work.
Southeastern University senior Bailey Hooker was named Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring at 18.2 points per game, helping her team to a 24-0 regular season. Hooker was third in the conference in shooting at 50.5%. The Lutz, Fla. native scored at least 10 points in 14 of her 15 conference games, and had six 20-point games in league play.
Hooker was joined on the All-Conference First-Team by her teammate, and former player of the year Christin Strawbridge, who is currently second in the nation in field goal percentage at 62.8%. Alyssa Ramos, Ana Richter, and Sarah Green were selected to the Second Team.
Green was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year, recording 64 blocks.
Supavadee Kunchuan (St. Thomas), Kaylee Patton (Keiser), Abreona Cabell (Florida Memorial), Lauren Gillingham (Ave Maria), and Diamond Williams (Johnson & Wales) completed the First Team. All averaged better than 14 points per game this season.
Keiser head coach Pam Oswald was named Coach of the Year. Oswald guided the Seahawks to an 18-10 record in the regular season and a second-place finish in the conference.
Ave Maria's Katie Ringdahl was named then the Champion of Character for the second year in a town. A member of the prestigious Allstate NABC Good Works Team, Ringdahl ministers to the students of Immokalee HS, and serves as the Young Life leader for Immokalee, as well as Ave Maria.
Making an impact in their first year in the conference, Thomas University’s J’Nyiah Daniels and Keiser’s Kaylee Patton were honored as the Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, respectively. Daniels averaged 12.6 points per game, dished out 53 assists, and recorded 39 steals. Patton made 74 3-pointers this season, shooting 39% from beyond the arc.
Fifteen student-athletes earned Academic All-Conference recognition for their work in the classroom. To be eligible, the recipient must be at least a sophomore that has completed two semesters at their institution with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Southeastern had a league-best four qualifiers.
Semifinal play begins Friday at 5 p.m. as Southeastern takes on Florida Memorial, followed by Keiser and St. Thomas at 7 p.m.
First-Team All-Conference
Bailey Hooker, Southeastern
Christin Strawbridge, Southeastern
Supavadee Kunchuan, St. Thomas
Kaylee Patton, Keiser
Abreona Cabell, Florida Memorial
Lauren Gillingham, Ave Maria
Diamond Williams, Johnson & Wales
Second-Team All-Conference
Alyssa Ramos, Southeastern
Desanta’ Franklin Jordan, St. Thomas
Quanthavia Stalworth, Webber International
Samara Auguste, St. Thomas
Ana Richter, Southeastern
Dominique Winbush, Keiser
Sarah Green, Southeastern
All-Defensive Team
Sarah Green, Southeastern
Abreona Cabell, Florida Memorial
Samara Auguste, St. Thomas
Dominique Winbush, Keiser
Quanthavia Stalworth, Webber International
Player of the Year
Bailey Hooker, Southeastern
Defensive Player of the Year
Sarah Green, Southeastern
Freshman of the Year
J’Nyiah Daniels, Thomas
Newcomer of the Year
Kaylee Patton, Keiser
Champions of Character Award
Katie Ringdahl, Ave Maria
Coach of the Year
Pam Oswald, Keiser
Academic All-Sun Conference
Lauren Gillingham, Ave Maria
Khiyandra McCallam, Johnson & Wales
Diamond Williams, Johnson & Wales
Miah Shepherd, Keiser
Cassidy Block, Southeastern
Bailey Hooker, Southeastern
Alyssa Ramos, Southeastern
Christin Strawbridge, Southeastern
Supavadee Kunchuan, St. Thomas
Emily May, St. Thomas
Shamari Josey, Thomas
Tess Wright, Thomas
Charisa Broadway, Warner
Randi Chandler, Warner
Kashari James, Warner