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UAA Player of the Year Melissa Gilkey Garners All-America Honors

UAA Player of the Year Melissa Gilkey Garners All-America Honors
Posted: Mar 24, 2014

From Washington University Athletics

Washington University in St. Louis junior forward Melissa Gilkey received women's basketball All-America honors from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), D3hoops.com and Women's DIII News for the second year in a row.

Gilkey was named to the All-America Second Team by Women's DIII News, the third team by D3hoops.com and the honorable mention by the WBCA. She received All-America honorable mention accolades from all three organizations a year ago. Gilkey is just the fifth player in school history to earn repeat honors from the WBCA, joining Alia Fischer (1997-98, 98-99, 99-00), Tasha Rodgers (1999-00, 00-01), Laura Crowley (2001-02, 02-03) and Kelly Manning (2004-05, 05-06).

Gilkey was the lone UAA player listed on the All-America Teams by the three organizations. The Women's DIII News All-Americans includes five players each on first through fifth teams, as well as 40 honorable mention honorees. D3hoops.com selected five players each to first through fourth teams, along with five honorable mention selections. The WBCA Coaches' All-America Team consists of 10 first team members and 30 honorable mention honorees.

The University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Year and two-time first-team all-UAA honoree, Gilkey was named to the D3hoops.comAll-Central Region first team for the second straight year. She led Washington U. with 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, while also recording a team-high 32 blocked shots. Gilkey finished the season ranked first in the UAA in free-throw percentage (.821), second in scoring (16.7) and blocks (1.2), third in rebounding (8.3), and eighth in field-goal percentage (.513). She scored in double figures in 26 of 27 games for the Bears, including nine double-doubles.

Gilkey became the 13th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points during the Bears' 65-58 win at Rochester Jan. 31. She finished her junior season ranked eighth on Washington University's career scoring list with 1,173 points. Gilkey also ranks sixth on the career blocked shots list (99) and ninth on the career rebounding leaderboard (627) entering her final collegiate season. She scored 450 points in 2013-14, which is the ninth-highest single-season point total in Washington U. history, and her free-throw percentage of .821 ranks 10th on the Bears' all-time single-season list.

Washington University finished the season with a 24-3 overall record and a 13-1 mark in the UAA. The Bears won the 20th UAA Championship in program history, and made their 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, advancing to the Second Round for the 16th year in a row.