Azusa Pacific's Kelly Heimburger has been the focal point of rival teams trying to defend the Cougars over the past three seasons, and once again she is the focal point of the 2024-25 Pacific West Conference special awards and all-conference team.

Heimburger was named the PacWest Player of the Year, giving her back-to-back plaques of the same kind. She is only the third player in conference history to win the honor two years in a row, joining Amy Baum (Hawai`i Pacific, 2020 and 2021) and Samantha Murphy (Grand Canyon 2010 and 2011) in that elite company.

Like APU, 2025 PacWest regular season champion Point Loma had two first team selections and also can boast of Coach of the Year Charity Elliott and Newcomer of the Year Alli McDonald. The Defender of the Year is Westmont's Lisa Kiefer and the Freshman of the Year is Vanguard's Emma Schaaf.

The all-conference teams and special awards are voted on by the head coaches of the 14 teams in the PacWest. 

Kelly Heimburger put up career numbers in 2024-25 despite opponent emphasis on stopping her. The fifth-year senior averaged a career-best 18.4 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per contest. She shot 85 percent from the free throw line, had 50 steals and 47 blocked shots. The 6-foot forward led the PacWest in scoring, was third in blocks, fourth in free throw accuracy and tenth in steals. Heading into this week's PacWest championships, she has 1,754 career points, eighth all-time in the PacWest. The three-time All-PacWest selection rang up a career-best 39 points this year against Hawai`i Pacific and is respected highly on both ends of the court, i.e. her 2024 selection as PacWest Defender of the Year.

Point Loma head coach Charity Elliott led her team to the school's first PacWest women's basketball title with an 18-2 conference record. They swept the season series with defending champ and preseason favorite Azusa Pacific, and finished two games ahead of the Cougars and Vanguard. After a 2-3 non-conference start to the season, Elliott and the Sea Lions righted the ship and put together a 12-game winning streak, and they head into the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed on a nine-game string. They are 23-5 overall. Ellott has a 72-46 coaching mark at Point Loma in four seasons, after a highly successful career as a head coach at Loyola Marymount, UC San Diego, Portland State and California Baptist. 

One Sea Lion who helped Coach Elliott win a conference championship is the Newcomer of the Year, Alli McDonald. The graduate transfer from Sonoma State started every game this year (28) and was second on the Sea Lions in scoring with 11.5 points per game. Her 9.3 rebounds per contest ranked fourth in the PacWest, and the 5-foot-10 forward led the conference by a large margin in free throw accuracy at .905. A two-time All-CCAA selection at Sonoma State and a 2024 All-West Region pick, McDonald averaged a double-double per game with the Seawolves at 16.5 points and 10.4 rebounds.

The Defender of the Year comes from Westmont, Lisa Kiefer. The Montana transfer, who sat out last season with an injury, averaged a PacWest best 11.7 rebounds a game, eighth all-time in the PacWest. The 6-foot-2 forward also had 33 blocked shots and 58 steals, both ranking fifth in the conference. She had a season-best 20 rebounds against Concordia and she blocked seven shots in a game against conference champ Point Loma. She won four PacWest Defender of the Week awards this season.

The PacWest Freshman of the Year goes to Emma Schaaf of Vanguard. The 6-foot-3 forward started every game for the Lions (26), who finished in second place in the PacWest in their first season in the league. The true freshman from Newhall, Calif. averaged 11.2 points per game and 8.6 rebounds a contest (fifth in the PacWest). She also swatted 58 shots, second best in the conference. Schaaf had at least one blocked shot in 25 of the 26 games she played, and had a season best 5 against Chaminade. 

Heimburger and McDonald were All-PacWest First Team selections. They were joined by Point Loma's Tavia Rowell, Azusa Pacific's Amayah Kirkman, Westmont's Sage Kramer and Vanguard's Sarah Matossian. Schaaf and Kiefer were named to the All-PacWest Third Team.

Tavia Rowell was named to a All-PacWest Team for the third time. The smooth left-hander was a First Team pick for the Sea Lions last year, and in 2021-22 was a Third Team selection while at Hawai`i Pacific. This year Rowell averaged 14.4 points per game and nailed 64 three-pointers. Amayah Kirkman earned her second All-PacWest honor, averaging 16.4 points and 2.3 steals, both fourth in the PacWest. The grad senior posted the two highest scoring games in the PacWest this season, putting up 33 against Westmont and 30 versus Academy of Art.

Westmont's Sage Kramer was named to the First Team for the first time. The 5-10 junior forward averaged 16.3 points a game, third in the conference and she pulled down 6.3 boards. She had a season high 28 points against Chaminade and grabbed 16 rebounds versus Concordia. Vanguard's Sarah Matossian was also named to the First Team, averaging 13 points a game and 9.8 rebounds, third best in the league. Her .465 shooting percentage ranks fourth and her 2.8 assists per game is fifth. The 5-11 junior had a season high of 34 points against Concordia and pulled down 20 rebounds in the Lions' second game against the Golden Eagles. 

Second Team selections were Alaiyah San Juan and Taylor Linzie from Dominican, Eiley Tippins and Kayle Byon from Point Loma, Vanguard's Halle Si`i and Concordia's Izzy Navarro. Tippins and Navarro were both all-conference a year ago and Navarro was the Freshman of the Year in 2024.

Third Team picks include Alberte Frisch and Jordyn Rosette from Menlo, who finished 16-11 overall and 12-8 in their first season in the PacWest. Hawai`i Hilo's Caiyle Kaupu was selected, along with Azusa Pacific's Audrey Sayoc, joining special award winners Schaaf and Kiefer on the Third Team.
 

2024-25 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year		Kelly Heimburger				Azusa Pacific
Defender of the Year		Lisa Kiefer				Westmont
Newcomer of the Year		Alli McDonald				Point Loma
Freshman of the Year		Emma Schaaf				Vanguard
Coach of the Year		Charity Elliott				Point Loma
2024-25 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM
Name	School		Pos.	Yr.	Hometown/Previous School
FIRST TEAM
Kelly Heimburger**	Azusa Pacific		F	Sr.	San Jose, Calif. / Presentation HS
Tavia Rowell**	Point Loma		G	Sr.	Langley, B.C. / Hawaii Pacific
Amayah Kirkman*	Azusa Pacific		G	Grad.	Scottsdale, Ariz. / Lynnwood HS
Alli McDonald	Point Loma		F	Sr.	Diamond Springs, Calif. / Sonoma St.
Sage Kramer	Westmont		G-F	Jr.	Philomath, Ore. / Philomath HS
Sarah Matossian	Vanguard		G-F	Sr.	Laguna Niguel, Calif. / Irvine Valley
SECOND TEAM
Alaiyah San Juan	Dominican		G	Sr.	Millbrae, Calif. / N.D. Belmont
Eiley Tippins*	Point Loma		C	Jr.	Tahoe Vista, Calif. / Incline HS
Izzy Navarro*	Concordia		G	So.	Tijuana, Mexico / Cathedral Catholic HS
Halle Si`i	Vanguard		G	Jr.	Long Beach, Calif. / Capistrano Valley Christian HS
Kaylee Byon	Point Loma		G	Jr.	Buena Park, Cailf. / Utah Valley
Taylor Linzie	Dominican		F	Gr.	Bakersfield, Calif. / CS East Bay
THIRD TEAM
Alberte Frisch	Menlo		G	Jr.	Rungsted Kyst, Denmark
Caiyle Kaupu	Hawai`i Hilo		G	Sr.	Holualoa, Hawai`i / UC Irvine
Emma Schaaf	Vanguard		F	Fr.	Newhall, Calif. / Libertas Prep
Lisa Kiefer	Westmont		F	Jr.	Marburg, Germany / Montana
Jordyn Rosette	Menlo		G	Gr.	Elk Grove, Calif. / Consumnes HS
Audrey Sayoc	Azusa Pacific		G	Jr.	Glendale, Calif. / Providence HS

                    *Previous All-PacWest selection