GSC Announces 2016-17 Women's Basketball All-Conference Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Gulf South Conference has announced the 2016-17 women’s basketball all-conference awards, as voted on by the league’s coaches. West Florida’s
Alex Coyne has been named the GSC Player of the Year, while North Alabama’s
Ivy Wallen has been named the GSC Freshman of the Year. Valdosta State head coach Carley Kuhns has been named the GSC Coach of the Year.
Coyne is joined on the All-GSC First Team by teammate
Toni Brewer, Valdosta State’s
Madi Mitchell, Valdosta State’s
Kenya Samoné Dixon, and Wallen. Shorter’s
Taylor Adams, West Florida’s
Katie Bobos, West Georgia’s
De’Ashia Jones, Christian Brothers’
Samantha Reeves, and Lee’s
Erin Walsh make up the All-GSC Second Team.
Coyne is now a two-time all-conference honoree, and the first GSC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year from West Florida since the 2004-05 season. She was the team leader in minutes played, helping guide the Argonauts to an 18-4 conference record and the first GSC Regular Season Championship in program history. Coyne led the league, and was third in the NCAA, in assists per game, dishing out 6.7 assists in each contest. She led the team with 53 steals, spearheading the second best scoring defense in the conference.
Wallen led the GSC in scoring in her first season, averaging 20.4 points per game for the Lions. That mark ranked 11
th in all of Division II. North Alabama was picked 11
th in conference in the league’s preseason poll, but behind Wallen, UNA was able to finish in fifth place and qualify for the GSC Tournament. She is the first freshman to be named First Team All-GSC since UAH’s Jordan Smith in 2010-11. Wallen was named the GSC’s Player of the Week twice this season and was the GSC’s Freshman of the Week five times.
Kuhns is taking home GSC Coach of the Year honors in her first year on the bench for the Lady Blazers. Picked ninth in the league’s preseason poll, VSU finished the year in second place, going 16-6 in conference play. The second place finish for VSU is the program’s best finish since the GSC went away from a divisional format in 2011-12. Valdosta State ended the year with nine wins in its final 10 games and is currently ranked eighth in the NCAA’s South Regional Rankings.
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| F |
Toni Brewer # |
West Florida |
Jr. |
Huntsville, Ala. |
| G |
Alex Coyne ^ |
West Florida |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| F |
Madi Mitchell |
Valdosta State |
Jr. |
Warwick, Ga. |
| F |
Kenya Samoné Dixon |
Valdosta State |
Jr. |
Baton Rouge, La. |
| G |
Ivy Wallen |
North Alabama |
Fr. |
Anderson, Ala. |
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| F |
Taylor Adams * |
Shorter |
Sr. |
Scottsboro, Ala. |
| F |
Katie Bobos ^ |
West Florida |
Sr. |
Lowell, Ind. |
| F |
De’Ashia Jones |
West Georgia |
Jr. |
Newark, N.J. |
| F |
Samantha Reeves |
Christian Brothers |
Sr. |
Somerville, Tenn. |
| G |
Erin Walsh * |
Lee |
Jr. |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
* 2015-16 First Team Selection | ^ 2015-16 Second Team Selection
# 2014-15 Second Team Selection