
FOREST, Va. --- Bridgewater College guard Jessica Lam and Lynchburg College mentor Abby Pyzik Smith headline the ODAC women’s basketball awards, as the pair were named the ODAC Player of the Year and ODAC Coach of the Year, respectively. Randolph-Macon College center Kelly Williams secured ODAC Rookie of the Year honors, while Roanoke College forward Cary Beahm garnered ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete laurels from the conference’s sports information directors.
This season’s all-conference teams feature several new players with seven honorees repeating as all-league performers from a season ago. That includes three standouts on this year’s All-ODAC First Team. Guilford College forward Anais Weatherly picks up her second first team selection, while Virginia Wesleyan College guard Jayla Harris steps up from the All-ODAC Second Team. Lam skipped the second team all together, jumping to the first team from the All-ODAC Third Team.
Lam, a senior from Elkton, Va., is the #1 scorer in the ODAC with 548 total points and a 21.1 per game average. She registered four 30-plus point games, which includes the only 40-point game in the last two years in the ODAC with 41 points in a road win in late January. She registered double figures in scoring in 25-of-26 games played, tying for the conference lead with 14 games of 20 points or better. Lam connected on an ODAC-high 159 free throws, which was buoyed by a conference fourth-best 79.9 foul shooting percentage. She is also third with 182 made field goals and ninth with a 48.0 field goal shooting percentage.
Pyzik Smith is in her seventh season at the helm of her alma mater and enjoys her first ODAC top coaching award. The past three seasons, including this year, her teams have won 63 total games, which also includes back-to-back 20-win campaigns in 2016 and so far this season. Earlier this year, she collected her 100th career victory on the way to securing the top seed in the ODAC Tournament for the second straight season.
Williams, a freshman from Garysburg, N.C., is averaging a double-double at 18.5 points and 12.8 rebounds, which are good for fifth and first in the ODAC, respectively. Her 21 double-doubles in 26 games played not only lead the ODAC, but are tied for fourth in NCAA Division III. She registered the lone 20-20 game in the conference this season with 22 points and 20 boards in early December. She poured in a season and career-high 30 points in the final regular season game of the season. Williams also protects the rim, ranking second in the league with 64 blocked shots.
Beahm, a Dendron, Va., maintains a 3.97 grade point average with Criminal Justice and Sociology majors and a minor in Psychology. A 2016 Third Team Academic All-American, she is in line for a second such honor after earning a spot on the 2017 Academic All-District Team. She is a perennial member of the Roanoke College Dean’s List and President’s List of Distinguished Students. She is a member of several national honor societies including Omicron Delta Kappa (leadership), National Honor Society of Leadership and Success, and those associated with her areas of study. On the court, Beahm earned spot on the All-ODAC Second Team this season, combining that with a first team award in 2016. She is second in the ODAC in scoring at 19.8 points per game, having made 194 field goals, which tops the ODAC charts. She is second in rebounding at 9.2 boards per game, and fifth in field goal shooting at 50.3 percent.
Listed below is the complete set of 2017 All-ODAC Women's Basketball Teams. For more information, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.
2017 ALL-ODAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS | |||
ODAC Player of the Year: Jessica Lam, Sr., G., Bridgewater ODAC Coach of the Year: Abby Pyzik Smith, Lynchburg ODAC Rookie of the Year: Kelly Williams, Fr., C., Randolph-Macon ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete: Cary Beahm, Sr., F., Roanoke |
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All-ODAC First Team | |||
Charmaine Hairston | Sr. | G | Lynchburg |
Jayla Harris # | So. | G | Virginia Wesleyan |
Jessica Lam ^ | Sr. | G | Bridgewater |
Emily Perszyk | Sr. | G | Washington and Lee |
Anais Weatherly * | Sr. | F | Guilford |
Kelly Williams | Fr. | C | Randolph-Macon |
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All-ODAC Second Team | |||
Cary Beahm * | Sr. | F | Roanoke |
Taylor Blevins # | So. | F | Emory & Henry |
Megan Jacoby # | Sr. | G | Emory & Henry |
Caroline Naumann | Jr. | F | Lynchburg |
Myneshia Walker | Jr. | G | Eastern Mennonite |
Heaven Walters | Sr. | F | Guilford |
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All-ODAC Third Team | |||
Jonae Guest | Sr. | C | Eastern Mennonite |
Amber Lee | Jr. | F | Randolph-Macon |
Kaitlyn Lehan | Jr. | C | Bridgewater |
Lauren Ramsey ^ | Jr. | G | Guilford |
Chloe Roach | Fr. | G | Eastern Mennonite |
Molly Shephard | So. | F | Lynchburg |
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* 2016 All-ODAC First Team # 2016 All-ODAC Second Team ^ 2016 All-ODAC Third Team |