MORAN NAMED ATLANTIC 10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
PHILADELPHIA (02/28/02) - Saint Joseph's senior Susan Moran has been tabbed the 2002 Atlantic 10 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year, in a poll conducted by the Conference coaches.
A native of Tullamore, Ireland, Moran also claimed a spot on the first-team All-Conference squad as well as being named Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. The 6-1 forward leads the conference and is fourth in the nation in scoring with 23.2 points per game. She is also third in the league averaging 8.9 rebounds per game. Her eight conference Player of the Week citations this year is a league record. With 2,223 career points, Moran is her school's career scoring leader surpassing former Hawk standout Dale Hodges (1988-90) and her 2,077 career points. She also had five 30-point outbursts this season - the most of any player in school history. She has paced the league in scoring for the past three seasons and is the only Hawk to lead her team in scoring and rebounding all four years.
St. Bonaventure freshman Stefanie Collins is the 2002 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. The Odessa, NY native claimed three Rookie of the Week awards and is the Bona's first ever Rookie of the Year. She is the top freshman scorer in the league, averaging 11.1 points per game. She also averages 2.7 rebounds per game and dishes out 2.2 assists per game. Her 39.5 shooting percentage from behind the arc ranks sixth among Atlantic 10 performers, while her 2.2 treys per game is fourth.
Guiding his team to its sixth Atlantic 10 regular season title is Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Joe McKeown. Earning his fourth Coach of the Year honor, McKeown led George Washington to its 11th 20+ win season. In fact, McKeown has not had a losing season since taking over the Colonials program in 1989. With 168 Atlantic 10 regular season victories, he is the leagues' all-time winningest coach. In his team's 12 Atlantic 10 Championship appearances, he has taken the Colonials to the final game on seven occasions and has won three Championship titles. The Philadelphia native boasts a 292-108 record at George Washington, 360-128 overall.
The Atlantic 10's Defensive Player of the Year is George Washington sophomore Ugo Oha. A member of the Atlantic 10's first-team, Oha ranks fifth in the nation with 3.0 blocks per game. A 6-2 center, she finished the regular season with 80 blocks, which is more than eight Atlantic 10 teams recorded on the season - Massachusetts (74), Saint Joseph's (64), Rhode Island (58), St. Bonaventure (56), La Salle (47), Temple (37) Dayton (36) and Xavier (29). Her eight blocks against George Mason on Dec. 20 is tied at ninth nationwide for the most blocks in a game this season. The Houston, TX native also averages 12.9 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game.
The Most Improved Player of the Year is Duquesne sophomore Candace Futrell. A second-team All-Conference performer, Futrell stepped into the starting lineup this season for the injured Khalihah Este-Shehu and has not looked back. The Altoona, PA native, has scored in double-figures in 25 of the Dukes' 27 games, including eleven 20+ point performances. The 5-10 guard is second in the A-10 in scoring with 17.5 points per game and averages 33.8 minutes per game. Compare that to last year when she averaged just 4.1 points per game and 16.7 minutes per game.
Rounding out the Atlantic 10 award winners is the 2002 Sixth Player of the Year Lindsey Davidson of George Washington. Davidson began the year as a starter, but was switched to first off the bench midway through the season. She averages 6.0 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game and 2.1 steals per game. The Brea, CA native ranks fourth in the league in steals and ninth in assists.
2002 ATLANTIC 10 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HONORS
ATLANTIC 10 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM Athena Christoforakis, Temple Beth Friday, Duquesne Cathy Joens, George Washington Susan Moran, Saint Joseph's Ugo Oha, George Washington
SECOND-TEAM Jennifer Butler, Massachusetts Candace Futrell, Duquesne Courtney Mattingly, St. Bonaventure Stacey Smalls, Temple Amy Waugh, Xavier
THIRD-TEAM Amber Goppert, Richmond Michele Koclanes, Richmond Yatar Kuyateh, Rhode Island Reetta Piipari, Xavier Ebony Tanner, Richmond
ROOKIE TEAM Stefanie Collins, St. Bonaventure Kate Flavin, Richmond Alexis Henderson, Xavier Anna Montaņana, George Washington Monica Garrido Sanz, La Salle Emily Williams, Dayton
DEFENSIVE TEAM Jennifer Butler, Massachusetts Neda Djuric, Rhode Island Amber Goppert, Richmond Ugo Oha, George Washington Stacey Smalls, Temple
ACADEMIC TEAM Chrissy Donovan, Dayton Beth Friday, Duquesne Michele Koclanes, Richmond Courtney Mattingly, St. Bonaventure Susan Moran, Saint Joseph's
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Susan Moran, Saint Joseph's
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Stefanie Collins, St. Bonaventure
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ugo Oha, George Washington
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Candace Futrell, Duquesne
SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lindsey Davidson, George Washington
STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Susan Moran, Saint Joseph's
COACH OF THE YEAR: Joe McKeown, George Washington
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