Azusa Pacific is just the third team in the history of PacWest women's basketball to go unbeaten while winning the conference title. It stands to reason that all five Cougar starters would be named to the All-PacWest squad, along with the Cougars taking three of the five special PacWest awards. 

Kelly Heimburger was so good this season that she was named as the Player of the Year and the Defender of the Year. APU head coach TJ Hardeman is the Coach of the Year, while Concordia's Izzy Navarro and Academy of Art's Alba Rovira Ayso broke up the Cougar monopoly by being named Freshman and Newcomer of the Year respectively. 

The All-PacWest first, second and third teams, along with the special awards, are chosen by the conference's coaches.

Kelly Heimburger is only the second player to ever win both the Player and Defender of the Year in the same season (the other was Point Loma's Roya Rustamzada in 2017-18). The 6-foot junior led the PacWest in scoring (15.7), was second in blocked shots (2.0), fourth in free throw percentage (.835) and sixth in steals (2.1). Her 27 points against Point Loma tied for the third highest total in the conference this season. She helped keep APU's unbeaten conference season alive late in the year against Biola, stealing a pass during a tie game on what would have been the Eagles' final possesion, and then followed that with a three-pointer at the buzzer to secure the win. 

Cougar head coach TJ Hardeman is the architect behind APU's 20-0 PacWest season and current No. 1 West Region ranking. Azusa Pacific comes into the PacWest tournament on a 22-game win streak and with a 26-3 overall record. The Cougars led the PacWest in scoring (71.3) and were second in defense (58.0) for a scoring differential of 13.4. It is Hardeman's third PacWest Coach of the Year award (he also won in 2019 and 2023), and it is APU's third straight conference title.

Concordia freshman Izzy Navarro helped lead the Golden Eagles into the PacWest tournament, clinching a berth in the final game of conference schedule. The Tijuana native averaged 13.4 points a game, fourth best in the conference, and she also dished out three assists a game, fifth on the conference list. She put up 27 points in a game against Biola, the third highest outburst in the PacWest this year, and she had 26 in a game against Northwest Nazarene.

The Newcomer of the Year award goes to Academy of Art's Alba Rovira Ayuso. The sophomore transfer from Division I Farleigh Dickinson averaged 13.9 points (third best in the conference) and 5.6 rebounds a game. She hit for a season-high 24 against Chaminade. The Spain native had seven steals in a game against Biola, the second highest total for a single contest in the PacWest this year. 

Heimburger was also a All-PacWest First Team selection and Navarro was a Third Team pick. Also named to the First Team was Point Loma's Tavia Rowell, Fresno Pacific's Maesyn Rix and Felicia Dourva, Azusa Pacific's Paige Uyehara and Biola's Jordan Rabe.

Paige Uyehara was named to a PacWest All-Conference team for a third time. The Cougar point guard led the league in assists (4.6) and was also tops in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9). She averaged 11.5 points per game. The fifth-year player now has 1,497 career points. She also has 538 assists, second all-time in the PacWest. 

Tavia Rowell earned her second All-PacWest honor with her second PacWest team. The Point Loma star was named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year in 2021-22 while a member of the Hawai`i Pacific Sharks, after transferring from Grand Canyon. As a Sea Lion, she is second in the conference in scoring (15.2), second in three-point percentage (.409), second in free throw accuracy (.840) and fourth in treys made per game (1.7).

Second-place Fresno Pacific had two members named to the First Team. Felicia Dourva averaged 11.9 points per game for the Sunbirds and listed third in the conference in three-pointers made per game (1.8). She also shot .338 from behind the arch, fifth best in the conference. Teammate Maesyn Rix was a major force on the boards for FPU, leading the conference by a wide margin in rebounds per game at 9.3. She had double figure totals in rebounds 11 times this season.

Biola's Jordan Rabe rounds out the First Team selections capping a solid five-year career for the Eagles. The grad senior averaged 10.8 points per game and 7.1 rebounds to help lead the Eagles into the conference tournament. She heads into the PacWest Championships with 1,017 career points and 714 rebounds. 

As mentioned earlier, Azusa Pacific has all five starters on a All-PacWest team. In addition to Heimburger and Uyehara, Molly Whitmore earned her fourth all-conference award (Second Team), Tylee Manuel gets her second (Third Team) and Amayah Kirkman grabs her first honor (Second Team).

Other repeat members are Kamalu Kamakawiwoole (Hawai`i Hilo), Laila Walker (Biola), and Keyonee Neal (Dominican). 


 

2023-24 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year	Kelly Heimburger	Azusa Pacific
Defender of the Year	Kelly Heimburger	Azusa Pacific
Newcomer of the Year	Alba Rovira Ayuso	Academy of Art
Freshman of the Year	Izzy Navarro	Concordia
Coach of the Year	TJ Hardeman	Azusa Pacific

 

2023-24 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown/Previous School
FIRST TEAM
Kelly Heimburger*	Azusa Pacific	F	Jr.	San Jose, Calif. / Presentation HS
Tavia Rowell*	Point Loma	G	Jr.	Langley, B.C. / Hawai`i Pacific
Felicia Dourva	Fresno Pacific	G	Gr.	Lund, Sweden / Polhemskolan Lund
Maesyn Rix	Fresno Pacific	F	Sr.	Auberry, Calif. / Sacramento State
Paige Uyehara**	Azusa Pacific	G	Sr.	San Jose, Calif. / St. Francis
Jordan Rabe	Biola	F	Gr.	Spokane, Wash. / Northwest Christian
SECOND TEAM
Ellie Turk	Point Loma	G	Sr.	San Diego, Calif. / Foothills Christian
Jenna Duley	Dominican	G	Sr.	Rocklin, Calif. / Sierra College
Amayah Kirkman	Azusa Pacific	G	Jr.	Phoenix, Ariz. / Lynnwood HS
Molly Whitmore***	Azusa Pacific	F	Sr.	Adelaide, Australia / Portside Christian
Kamalu Kamakawiwoole*	Hawai`i Hilo	F	Sr.	Kaimuki, Hawai`i / Utah State
Keyonee Neal*	Dominican	G	So.	Rohnert Park, Calif. / Rancho Cotate HS
THIRD TEAM
TyLee Manuel*	Azusa Pacific	F	Sr.	Billings, Mont. / MSU Billings
Laila Walker*	Biola	G	Jr.	Fontana, Calif. / Summit HS
Bailey Fong	Westmont	G	So.	Foster City, Calif. / Hillsdale HS
Eiley Tippins	Point Loma	C	So.	Tahoe Vista, Calif. / Incline HS
Izzy Navarro	Concordia	G	Fr.	Tijuana, Mexico / Cathedral Catholic
Savannah Felix-Amoroso	Concordia	F	Sr.	Catalina Island, Calif. / Rosary Academy

                                                                                            *Previous All-PacWest Selection