By Tim Gardner
Feb. 29, 2012. SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Appalachian State University women’s basketball placed three players on the Southern Conference coaches’ all-conference team, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
Anna Freeman and Courtney Freeman earned all-SoCon honors while Maryah Sydnor was named as an all-Freshman selection.
Anna Freeman, who leads the SoCon in scoring at 15.4 points per game, surpassed the 1,000-point milestone for her career earlier this season and set the ASU record for career blocks (196) on Monday. She also earned all-SoCon honors in the coaches’ voting last season.
Anna Freeman also leads the conference in free-throw percentage (.880) and steals (3.7 s/g) while ranking second in blocks (2.1 b/g). She ranks sixth nationally in steals and 17th in free-throw percentage. She has posted 24 games with at least 10 points and has scored 15 or more points in 14 games.
Courtney Freeman ranks second on the team and 10th in the SoCon in scoring (11.7 ppg), seventh in offensive rebounds (2.3 rpg) and 15th in total rebounds (5.4 rpg). She has scored in double-figured 16 times this season, including a career-high 23 in a win over UNCG on Jan. 9. Courtney Freeman also posted a double-double (15 pts, 10 reb) in the season-opener against ACC foe Virginia and fell just shy of another double-double at nationally-ranked Georgia on Dec. 22.
Sydnor, who started 15 games as a freshman, finished the regular season averaging 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She scored 10 or more points on 14 occasions throughout the season, including 11 of the teams final 13 games. She had a career-high 20 points against ETSU in the home-opener and matched that total in back-to-back games against Samford and Furman in late January. Sydnor notched her first career double-double at Davidson on Feb. 18 (17 pts, 11 reb) and ended the year ranked second among all SoCon freshmen in scoring.
Appalachian State matched preseason SoCon favorite Chattanooga in the number of total all-SoCon selections. The Mountaineers will face the winner of the first-round matchup between Georgia Southern and Western Carolina at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the SoCon Quarterfinals.
2012 SoCon Women’s Basketball Awards
All-Conference Team
Anna Freeman, Appalachian State
Courtney Freeman, Appalachian State
Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson
Laura Murray, Davidson
Ali Ford, Elon
Paige Anderson, Samford
Whitney Hood, Chattanooga
Kayla Christopher, Chattanooga
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Kaila’Shea Menendez, Western Carolina
All-Freshmen Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Sam Coffer, Elon
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Taylor Reece, Samford
Ali Lane, Western Carolina
Player of the Year
Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson
Defensive Player of the Year
Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson
Freshman of the Year
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Coach of the Year
Michele Savage, Davidson