MIAA story on Bearcats' turnaround

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- SBU senior guard/forward Rachel Graves was selected to the All-MIAA Second Team, when the awards were announced were announced Tuesday by the conference office. Graves also earned a spot on the MIAA All-Defensive Team.

Graves averaged 13.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. She led the team with 39 steals and tied for the team lead with 72 three-pointers. She was the 10th leading scorer in the MIAA, ranked eighth in assists, fourth in three-pointers made and three-point percentage, third in assist-to-turnover ratio and was second in minutes played.

She is tied for third all-time in SBU women's basketball history in games played with 112 (all of which she started). Graves also ranks second in SBU history in threes made (218) and also in three-point attempts (584).

"Rachel prides herself on defense," said SBU head coach J.C. Carter. "When your best player focuses on defense, everyone else does as well. Not only is Rachel our best player, she is also our hardest worker. Both of these honors from the conference are well-deserved."

Emporia State guards Cassondra Boston and Rachel Hanf were named Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Washburn guard Brette Ulsaker was named Defensive Player of the Year while her head coach Ron McHenry was named Coach of the Year.

After starting the conference season 1-10, the Bearcats won seven of their last nine games to earn a berth in the MIAA Tournament. SBU will play top-seeeded Washburn at noon Thursday at Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium, in the opening game of the postseason tournament.

2009-10 ALL-MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Cassondra Boston, Sr., G, Emporia State
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Brette Ulsaker, Sr., G, Washburn
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Rachel Hanf, G, Emporia State
 
COACH OF THE YEAR
Ron McHenry, Washburn

FIRST TEAM
Cassondra Boston, G, Sr. Emporia State**[r1]
Dayna Rodriguez, F, Sr., Washburn
Rebecca Roberts, C, Jr., Central Missouri
Naomi Bancroft, G, Sr., Fort Hays State
DePrice Taylor, G, Sr., Pittsburg State
Gentry Dietz, C, Jr., Northwest Missouri

**Unanimous Selection
[r1] - Repeat first team selection from last season

SECOND TEAM
Abby Henry, G, So., Northwest Missouri
Hope Gregory, G, Jr., Washburn
Rachel Graves, G/F, Sr., Southwest Baptist
Jasmine Lovejoy, G, Jr., Missouri Southern
Alyssa Green, G, Sr., Nebraska-Omaha
 
HONORABLE MENTION
Danielle Shows, G, Jr., Central Missouri
Alli Volkens, F, Jr., Emporia State
Erica Biel, F, Sr., Fort Hays State
Jolea Apon, G, Sr., Missouri Southern
Jessica Koch, F, So., Missouri Western
Maya Onikute, G, Sr., Pittsburg State
Nicole McCombs, F, Sr., Pittsburg State
Breanna Daniels, G, So., Truman
 
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Brette Ulsaker, G, Sr., Washburn
Jamie Nash, G, Fr., Nebraska-Omaha
Deidra Dace, G, Sr., Central Missouri
Rachel Graves, G, Sr., Southwest Baptist
Jamie Augustyn, G, Sr., Emporia State
 
[Note: Tie in voting created an additional spot on first team]