Grand Canyon’s Samantha Murphy named PacWest Player of the
Year; HPU's Jeff Harada is Coach of Year; Laura Zasly, Johnna Brown
honored
PHOENIX, AZ – When the head women’s
basketball coaches of the Pacific West Conference selected Grand
Canyon junior guard Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier
Prep) the Preseason Player of the Year, they must
have had an inkling they might be voting for her again in March.
2009-10 All-PacWest Team
Murphy was selected the 2009-10 PacWest Conference
Player of the Year and an All-PacWest First
Team choice for the third consecutive season after
finishing the year as the conference’s leading scorer. She
totaled 71 points in the voting process, beating out runner-up
Laura Zasly (Foster City, CA/Aragon) -
Notre Dame de Namur’s junior forward who splashed onto the
scene this year - by four points.
The PacWest Player, Freshman, Newcomer and Coach of the Year,
along with the 2009-10 All-PacWest Team, were announced by the
conference media office in Phoenix, AZ, on Wednesday, March 17.
Twenty student-athletes were selected for the all-conference squad
this year - seven First Team choices, seven Second Team picks and
six Honorable Mentions.
This year’s team features players from six different
states - Arizona, California, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Nevada and
Washington – and one foreign country in Australia.
Dixie State, Grand Canyon and Hawai‘i Pacific led the
conference by placing four players each on the team, while
Dominican (CA) and Academy of Art each earned All-PacWest
selections in their first season of competition in the conference.
NDNU boasted twin sisters on the All-PacWest First Team.
With student-athletes representing most of the Western United
States, Hawai‘i and Alaska, and several foreign countries on
PacWest women’s basketball rosters, the odds of more than one
athlete from the same high school earning all-conference accolades
is slim.
But in 2009-10, three high schools in three separate states earned
that distinction. Konawaena High School in Hawai‘i claimed
three All-PacWest selections, while Centennial High School in Las
Vegas and Aragon High School in California earned two apiece.
Each year the head coaches from the PacWest nominate and vote
for the All-PacWest Team and the league’s four major awards
in a weighted balloting process. The top seven votegetters are
named to the First Team, players ranking 8-14 are named Second
Team, and any player receiving a vote earns Honorable Mention.
The PacWest Player of the Year is decided during all-conference
voting. The player with the most points earns the honor. Players
can receive a maximum of eight first-place votes because head
coaches are restricted from voting for their own team members.
Murphy received five first-place votes while Zasly picked up two.
Hawai‘i Pacific senior forward Genesis Lewis
(Paramount, CA/Paramount) and HPU sophomore forward
Mana Hopkins (Kona, HI/Konawaena) each
received one first-place nod.
All four players, along with HPU junior forward
Jazzmin Awa-Williams (Kona,
HI/Konawaena), Dixie State freshman forward
Deanna Daniels (North Las Vegas,
NV/Centennial) and NDNU junior guard
Katie Zasly (Foster City, CA/Aragon),
were chosen for the All-PacWest First
Team.
Murphy was one of four All-PacWest selections for Grand Canyon.
She completed her junior year by averaging 19.0 points per game
– 3.9 points higher than the next closest player. She also
averaged 4.4 rebounds per game to rank 20th in the
league, while her ability to dole out assists at a clip of 3.4 per
game left her sixth in the PacWest in helping others.
From the field, Murphy shot 43.4% (161 for 371) to stand
12th on the season, while her premier free throw
shooting ability saw her make 147 of 169 (87.0%) attempts - by far
the most made and most attempted among the league’s leaders.
She finished fourth in shooting from the charity stripe in 2009-10.
Murphy is a complete player who can also shoot the three and
play cagey defense. She ranked fourth in steals per game (2.7) and
fifth in blocked shots per contest (0.5) this season, while her 1.6
three-pointers made per game ranked sixth in the PacWest. She hit
43 of 120 (35.8%) long-distance attempts to end up eighth in
three-point shooting.
Laura Zasly may have just missed out on the Player of the Year
award to Murphy, but the outstanding frontcourt player was named
the PacWest Newcomer of the Year. She totaled 16
points and edged out runner up Awa-Williams by one. Each player
received three first-place votes, but Zasly wound up with more
total points to claim the award.
Dominican (CA) senior guard Alisha Flaatan (Hayward,
CA/Moreau Catholic) picked up two first-place votes
and finished third in the balloting with nine points, while Grand
Canyon junior center Kia Gibson (Nine Mile Falls,
WA/Lakeside) earned one first-place nod and finished
fourth with seven points. Flaatan and Gibson also were named
All-PacWest Second Team.
Laura Zasly finished the 2009-10 campaign second in scoring in
the conference with a 15.1 points-per-game average. She also was
third in rebounding after collecting 7.1 boards per game, and
12th in assist average after doling out 2.7 per contest.
A terrific all-around player, Zasly made 39 of 109 three-point
attempts (35.8%) to finish ninth in the PacWest, while her 2.9
steals per game ranked second. Zasly’s 1.4 three-pointers
made per contest landed her seventh.
Zasly’s twin sister, Katie, joined her on the All-PacWest
First Team by averaging 13.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and
2.7 steals per game. She ranked fifth in thefts, ninth in assists,
ninth in rebounding and seventh in scoring.
Flaaten made Dominican history when she became the Penguins
first All-PacWest selection in the sport of women’s
basketball. She led the conference in three-pointers made (71) and
three-pointers made per game (2.7), ranked third in scoring (15.0
ppg.), 13th in assist average (2.7) and third in free
throw shooting (87.3% / 55 for 63).
With three All-PacWest First Team selections, a conference
championship, and a trip to the NCAA II National Championship
Tournament, it was no surprise that Hawai‘i Pacific’s
Jeff Harada was named the PacWest
Coach of the Year. The Sea Warriors finished the season
with a 14-2 league record and an overall mark of 18-7.
Harada received six first-place votes and finished with 19 total
points – five ahead of runner-up Mike
Rudder of NDNU. Rudder received two first-place
votes, while Angie Kristensen of Dixie
State earned one. Kristensen and Grand Canyon’s
Trent May tied for third place with nine
points apiece.
Dixie State rookie forward Johnna Brown (Las Vegas,
NV/Centennial) was the runaway favorite for the
Freshman of the Year honor after she garnered
seven first-place votes. She also was named All-PacWest
Second Team.
During the 2009-10 campaign, Brown averaged 13.9 points, 6.1
rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She ranked fourth in
scoring, 10th in rebounding and 10th in
assist average for the year in the PacWest, while her 56.0% (107 of
191) shooting from the field landed her second in the conference as
a rookie. From the line, Brown made 78.0% (92 of 188) of her free
throw attempts to rank eighth in the league for the year.
Brown was one of four All-PacWest selections for Dixie State,
including two from Centennial High School in Las Vegas. Daniels,
the lone First Team choice for the Red Storm, was the other.
The rookie frontcourt player had a terrific first season for
Dixie State after she averaged 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per
contest. She finished 11th in scoring, fifth in
rebounding and third in shooting (55.0%) She made 116 of 211 field
goal attempts and was among the leaders in thefts after averaging
2.5 takeaways per outing (7th).
In all, Dixie State wound up with three All-PacWest Second Team
selections this season, including senior forward Tanya
Clark (Beaumont, CA/Beaumont) and senior guard
Jessie Ingraham (Tucson, AZ/Canyon del
Oro). Clark was a repeat Second Team pick while
Ingraham earned Honorable Mention last year.
Clark averaged 8.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this season,
finishing seventh in the conference in collecting boards. She was
among the leaders in free throw shooting, making 81.0% (64 of 79)
to finish fifth in the league, while her 2.4 steals per game landed
her eighth in the conference.
Ingraham averaged 11.0 points while shooting 45.2% (80 of 177)
from the floor, ranking 16th in scoring and
10th in field goal percentage in the PacWest. She was
most productive from beyond the arc, connecting on 45.1% (32 of 71)
of her long-distance attempts while averaging 1.8 made per game.
She ranked second in the league in three-point shooting and eighth
in per game average.
Like Dixie State, Grand Canyon boasted four All-PacWest
selections in Murphy, Gibson, senior forward/guard
Stacy Haddow (Chino Valley, AZ/Chino
Valley) and senior forward Ashley Hardin
(Chandler, AZ/Marcos de Niza). Both Hardin and Haddow
earned Honorable Mention this season.
Gibson burst on the PacWest scene by leading the conference in
field goal percentage (57.6%) after making 121 of 210 field goal
attempts. She ranked 13th in scoring this season by
averaging 11.6 points per game, while she finished 11th
in free throw shooting after connecting on 76.3% (71 of 93) of her
attempts.
Hardin, an All-PacWest First Team selection in 2007-08 and the
Newcomer of the Year two seasons ago, missed almost all of the
2008-09 campaign with an injury. But the senior roared back this
year to claim All-PacWest honors. She averaged 7.6 points and 5.1
rebounds per contest.
Haddow was an All-PacWest Second Team choice last year who
averaged 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 three-pointers made per game. She
connected on 33 three-pointers and ranked sixth in the league in
long-range shooting (36.2%) after making 33 of 91 attempts.
With three First Team selections and one Second Team choice,
Hawai‘i Pacific also boasted four all-conference players in
2009-10. Awa-Williams and Hopkins – a Second Team pick last
year – represented Konawaena High School in Hawai‘i
along with Hawai‘i Hilo senior guard Nesha Ann
(Hina) Kimitete (Kailua-Kona, HI/Konawaena).
Awa-Williams finished eighth in the league in scoring after
averaging 12.4 points per game. She also ranked 11th in
rebounding by pulling down 5.8 caroms per contest, while her 54.7%
(123 for 225) shooting landed her fourth in the league. She also
averaged 2.6 assists (14th) per game.
Hopkins finished ninth in scoring in the conference, right
behind Awa-Williams, after she averaged 11.9 points per game. She
shot 43.9% (115 for 262) from the field to rank 11th,
and made 57 of 76 free throw attempts (75.0%) to finish
15th. Her 0.6 block average landed her fourth in the
PacWest.
Lewis rounded out the HPU First Team contingent after producing a
stellar season. She averaged 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game,
finishing 12th in scoring and second in rebounding in
the PacWest this year. She made 48.0% (118 for 246) of her field
goal attempts to finish seventh in the league, and ranked third in
blocked shots per game with a 0.6 average.
HPU sophomore guard Paris Gravely (Fairfield,
CA/Fairfield), who made the Second Team last season,
repeated as a Second Team selection this year. She averaged 10.8
points per game, shot 76.6% (59 for 77) from the line, and made
35.7% (30 for 84) of her three-point attempts. She finished the
year 17th in the league in scoring, 10th in
foul shooting and 10th in three-point percentage. She
was ninth in three-pointers made per game (1.3).
Kimitete was the lone All-PacWest selection for Hawai‘i
Hilo. This marked her third straight All-PacWest appearance after
earning Honorable Mention last year and Second Team accolades in
2007-08. She repeats as an Honorable Mention this season.
Kimitete finished the year among the scoring leaders in the
PacWest. She averaged 13.3 points per game to finish sixth in the
league, while her 51 three-pointers made and 2.0 per game average
ranked third in the conference. She also topped the PacWest in
steals per game (3.5).
Academy of Art and BYU-Hawaii each claimed a pair of All-PacWest
selections. Urban Knight junior forward Jessica Nolan
(Adelaide, Australia/Hallet Cove School) earned
Second Team honors, while senior guard Sondra Stilwell
(Redding, CA/Shasta) picked up an Honorable Mention
to become the first All-PacWest women’s basketball selections
in AAU history.
Nolan averaged 10.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, finishing
18th in scoring in the PacWest while leading the league
in glass domination. She also ranked eighth in assists per game
(2.9) and fifth in shooting (50.0%) after making 109 of 218 field
goal attempts. Nolan’s resume also included 2.0 steals per
game - good enough for 11th in the league.
Stilwell averaged 11.9 points per game to place 10th in
the league in scoring and averaged 3.9 assists per contest to rank
fourth in helpers. She shot 45.6% (120 of 263) from the floor to
finish the season ninth in the conference.
Stilwell was solid from beyond the arc, making 41.3% (45 of 109)
of her three-points attempts and averaging 1.7 three-pointers made
per game. She ranked fourth in three-point shooting, fifth in
three-pointers made per game, and ninth in steals per contest
(2.2). She also was sixth in assist/turnover ratio (0.6).
The Seasiders earned a pair of All-PacWest Honorable Mentions in
junior guard Richelle Fenenbock (Coeur d’Alene,
ID/Lake City) and sophomore guard Dara
Tompkison (Honolulu, HI/Punahou). Fenenbock earned
her third straight All-PacWest selection after being named to the
Second Team in 2007-08 and Honorable Mention in 2008-09.
Tompkison averaged 8.0 points and 4.0 assists per game,
finishing the season second in handing out helpers. She also
finished third in steals per game (2.8).
Fenenbock ranked second in three-pointers (61) and
three-pointers made per game (2.4) in 2009-10. She wound up fifth
overall in scoring average (13.6).