PICTURED (LEFT TO RIGHT): Freshman of the Year Montana Lewis (Harding), Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year Darcie Dick (Southwestern Oklahoma State) and Coach of the Year Kelsi Musick (Southwestern Oklahoma State). Not pictured is Defensive Player of the Year Roselis Silva (Arkansas Tech).
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Southwestern Oklahoma State senior guard Darcie Dick has been named Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year as well as the league’s newcomer of the year to highlight the list of 16 student-athletes to receive all-conference honors or a yearly award. The honors were revealed at the GAC Championship Tournament Welcome Banquet on Wednesday night in downtown Bartlesville.
Dick finished the regular season ranked second in the league with an average of 16.5 points per game and led the league with 429 total points in 26 games. She also hauled in a season total of 158 rebounds, 56 steals and 86 assists. She finished 10th in the league at 6.1 rebounds per game, fourth in assists (3.3 per game) and second in steals (2.2 per game).
The Cordell, Okla. native had four double-doubles and six games of at least 20 points during the 2011-12 season, including her season high of 29 points in a 90-85 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on January 26 at home. Dick was the GAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks in the middle of the season (Jan. 17, 24 and 31).
In addition to being named the player and newcomer of the year, Dick also earned a spot on the All-GAC First Team, along with Arkansas Tech junior guard Roselis Silva (Caracas, Venezuela), Arkansas Tech senior forward Natalia Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Southwestern Oklahoma State senior center Sumiya Darden (Fresno, Calif.) and Harding sophomore forward Kristen Celsor (Searcy, Ark.).
ATU’s Roselis Silva was named the GAC Women’s Basketball Defender of the Year after amassing a season total of 119 steals for an average of 4.8 per contest for a comfortable GAC lead in both categories. She also aided an Arkansas Tech defense that held its opponents to a 37.3 percent field goal shooting average. That average ranks second in the league heading into the conference championship tournament.
The All-GAC Second Team consists of Arkansas Tech senior guard/forward Katie Horsman (Fairfield Bay, Ark.), Harding senior guard Sierra Rollins (Angleton, Texas), Henderson State senior guard Cheree Freeman (Pine Bluff, Ark.), Southeastern Oklahoma State senior guard Nikki Nester (Dallas, Texas) and Ouachita Baptist senior guard Domino Miller (Mountain Home, Ark.)
Harding University freshman guard Montana Lewis has been named the inaugural GAC Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Year after averaging 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in her first season as a member of the Lady Bisons. The Bella Vista, Ark. native totaled 242 total points in 26 contests this season, and saved her best performances for the conference portion of the schedule, where she raised her scoring average to 11.1 points per game.
The All-GAC Honorable Mention list includes Arkansas-Monticello senior guard Alex Hart (Toronto, Ontario), Ouachita Baptist sophomore guard Nashia James (Pine Bluff, Ark.), Ouachita Baptist senior guard A’Laeshia Adams (Little Rock, Ark.), Arkansas-Monticello senior guard Chelsea Johnson (Stafford, Texas) and Southwestern Oklahoma State junior guard SaRaya Oyler (Beaver, Okla.).
Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Kelsi Musick has been named the inaugural GAC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year after leading the Bulldogs to a regular season record of 17-9, including a 12-4 record in conference outings to secure the No. 2 seed in the conference championship tournament. SWOSU was predicted to finish seventh out of nine teams in the preseason coaches’ poll.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Darcie Dick, SW Oklahoma State
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR: Roselis Silva, Arkansas Tech
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Montana Lewis, Harding
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Darcie Dick, SW Oklahoma State
COACH OF THE YEAR: Kelsi Musick, SW Oklahoma State
FIRST TEAM
Darcie Dick, SR, G, SW Oklahoma State (Cordell, Okla.)
Roselis Silva, JR, G, Arkansas Tech (Caracas, Venezuela)
Natalia Santos, SR, F, Arkansas Tech (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Sumiya Darden, SR, C, SW Oklahoma State (Fresno, Calif.)
Kristen Celsor, SO, F, Harding (Searcy, Ark.)
SECOND TEAM
Katie Horsman, SR, G/F, Arkansas Tech (Fairfield Bay, Ark.)
Sierra Rollins, SR, G, Harding (Angleton, Texas)
Cheree Freeman, SR, G, Henderson State (Pine Bluff, Ark.)
Nikki Nester, SR, G, SE Oklahoma State (Dallas, Texas)
Domino Miller, SR, G, Ouachita Baptist (Mountain Home, Ark.)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Alex Hart, SR, G, Arkansas-Monticello (Toronto, Ontario)
Nashia James, SO, G, Ouachita Baptist (Pine Bluff, Ark.)
A’Laeshia Adams, SR, G, Ouachita Baptist (Little Rock, Ark.)
Chelsea Johnson, SR, G, Arkansas-Monticello (Stafford, Texas)
SaRaya Oyler, JR, G, SW Oklahoma State (Beaver, Okla.)
THE BREAKDOWN
Total All-Conference Selections (first, second and HM): 15
Arkansas Tech: 3 (2 first, 1 second)
Southwestern Oklahoma State: 3 (2 first, 1 HM)
Ouachita Baptist: 3 (1 second, 2 HM)
Harding: 2 (1 first, 1 second)
Arkansas-Monticello: 2 (2 HM)
Henderson State: 1 (1 second)
Southeastern Oklahoma State: 1 (1 second)