RC's Hanson, EMU's Griffin Highlight Postseason Awards
SALEM, Va. --- Roanoke College junior forward
Erin Hanson and Eastern Mennonite University head coach Kevin
Griffin headlined the 2007 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)
women's basketball postseason honors, winning the league's player
and coach of the year awards. Randolph-Macon center Molly
Ariail was recognized as the conference's top rookie while
Lynchburg senior post Caroline Wesley won the ODAC/Farm Bureau
Scholar-Athlete Award. Randolph College, founded as
Randolph-Macon Woman's College, was tabbed with the conference team
sportsmanship award.
Hanson led the league in scoring at 19.1 points per game while
finishing third in the ODAC at 9.3 rebounds per contest. She
scored 30 points on four different occasions, racking up a
season-high 34 points to go with 11 rebounds against Emory &
Henry in mid-January, good for one of her league-high tying 13
double-doubles. She also surpassed the 1,000-point mark in a
victory over Hollins on January 26th. She earned
three ODAC player of the week honors, was named to the first team
last year, and was recognized as the conference's top rookie in
2005.
Griffin led his Royals to a 17-7 overall record, 15-5 in the ODAC,
and has his team poised for a run at the league championship as the
three seed in the upcoming postseason tournament. EMU won
five more conference games than it did a season ago, and enjoyed
winning streaks of five and seven games. The Royals are third
in the conference in field goal percentage and three-point
shooting, and they own the league's fourth toughest defense in
allowing only 57.3 points per game.
Ariail led the Yellow Jackets in scoring at 14.5 points per game,
the third-best mark in the ODAC. She is also fourth in the
conference in rebounding at 8.6 boards a contest. She scored
in double figures in 20 of 25 games played including the final six
outings of the season. She was a force in the paint,
collecting 10 doubles and averaging 22.2 points over her final six
games of the season. She earned one ODAC Player of the Week
award, scoring a career-high 30 points during that span.
Wesley boasts a 3.93 grade point average while majoring in Athletic
Training. She was named to the 2005-06 CoSIDA Academic
All-District Team. She is in the Westover Honors Program, is
a member of Phi Kappa Phi, and volunteers at the Head Start
Center. She is third on Lynchburg's all-time scoring chart
with 1,215 points and is the Hornets all-time leader in blocked
shots with 158. This season, she ranks in the conference top
ten in eight different statistical categories.
For a look at the complete 2007 ODAC Women's Basketball
All-Conference Teams, view the entry below or visit the ODAC on the
web at www.odaconline.com.
2006-07 ODAC Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams
First Team
Erin Hanson, Roanoke
Katy Herr Lovell, Bridgewater
Carolyn Riley, Eastern Mennonite
Lindsay Riesbeck, Randolph-Macon
Nicole Thurston, Virginia Wesleyan
Caroline Wesley, Lynchburg
Second Team
Molly Ariail, Randolph-Macon
Tracey Croner, Guilford
Jessica Hunsinger, Washington & Lee
Kristen Krouchick, Washington & Lee
Sara Rechnitzer, R-M Woman's College
Shannon Scales, Bridgewater
Honorable Mention
Amy Childs, Bridgewater
Michelle Dove, Virginia Wesleyan
Amanda Hiltunen, Randolph-Macon
Jolene Kratz, Eastern Mennonite
Kristen Morgan, Randolph-Macon
Andrea Ushinski, Virginia Wesleyan
Player of the Year
Erin Hanson, Roanoke
Rookie of the Year
Molly Ariail, Randolph-Macon
Coach of the Year
Kevin Griffin, Eastern Mennonite
ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete
Caroline Wesley, Lynchburg
Team Sportsmanship Award
R-M Woman's College