From Washington University Athletics
Junior forward Melissa Gilkey was selected as the 2014 University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Year to highlight five individual all-UAA honorees for the Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team, as announced by the Association.
Gilkey, who earned first-team all-UAA honors for the second year in a row, is the 10th UAA Player of the Year in school history and first since Kelly Manning earned the accolade in 2005-06. In addition, junior guard Maddy Scheppers was named the UAA Defensive Player of the Year, and head coach Nancy Fahey and her assistants John Patterson, Annie Crangle, Annitre Edison, Janice Evans, Ben Levineand Dianna Pasley were selected as the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. It marks the 18th time in the league's 27-year history that Fahey and her staff have earned the honor.
Gilkey was the lone first-team honoree for the Washington U. women, while junior guard Alyssa Johanson was named to the all-UAA second team for the second year in a row. Graduate student forward Kristin Anda, Scheppers and sophomore guard Jordan Thompson each received honorable mention recognition.
"It is always great for our athletes to get recognized with all-conference honors. I think it is a fitting reward for the hard work that they put in to make our team successful," Fahey said. "While we are proud of our individual efforts and awards, our focus this season was to win the UAA Championship, and we are even more proud that we accomplished that goal together."
Gilkey, a three-time all-UAA honoree, ranked in the top-10 in the UAA in five statistical categories. She led the league with a .830 free-throw percentage, ranked second in scoring (16.6 points per game) and blocks (1.2), third in rebounding (8.3) and eighth in field-goal percentage (.511). Gilkey scored in double figures in 24 of 25 regular-season games, including each of the last 20, and recorded nine double-doubles. She was also named the UAA Athlete of the Week three times (Dec. 9, Feb. 3, Feb. 24). Gilkey became the 13th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points during the Bears' win at the University of Rochester Jan.31, and ranks ninth in school history with 1,137 career points. She also ranks sixth on Washington U.'s career blocked shots list (97) and ninth in career rebounds (610).
Johanson was second on the team averaging 11.0 points per game off the bench for the Bears. She was also second on the team and ninth in the UAA with a .505 field-goal percentage during the regular season, and was second in the UAA in conference-games only with a .886 (31-35) free-throw percentage. The UAA Athlete of the Week Dec. 16, 2013, Johanson scored in double figures in 18 games for the Bears this season, including a season-high 19 at Carnegie Mellon University Jan. 26.
Anda averaged 8.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while starting all 25 games this season. She was also second on the team with 31 steals and fourth with 47 assists. Anda's 5.8 boards per game ranked 12th in the UAA, and she was tied for sixth with 2.6 offensive rebounds per game. She scored in double figures 10 times, including six UAA games, and posted the third double-double of her career with 12 points and 11 rebounds against Rochester Feb. 7. It is the second all-UAA honor in Anda's career after she also received honorable mention accolades in 2011.
Scheppers was named to the all-UAA honorable mention and selected as the league's Defensive Player of the Year after earning second-team all-UAA honors in 2013. She averaged 9.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Bears, while leading the team with 44 steals and tying for second with 48 assists. Scheppers made a team-high 40 three-pointers, ranking fourth in the UAA with an average of 1.6 per game. She is seventh in the conference with a three-point field-goal percentage of .374, and ninth with 1.8 steals per game.
Thompson earned all-UAA honorable mention honors for the first time in her career. She averaged 8.4 points, 5.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game while starting 24 games at point guard for the Bears. Thompson, who was named the UAA Athlete of the Week Jan. 13, ranked in the top-10 in the UAA in four offensive categories, and was in the top-four in UAA-games only. She finished the regular-season second in conference-games only in assists (5.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2), and fourth in three-pointers per game (1.7) and three-point field-goal percentage (.423). Thompson's 120 assists this season are 10th on Washington U.'s all-time single-season leaderboard. She scored in double-figures in eight games this season, including a career-high 27 points against the University of Chicago Jan. 11, and dished out a season-high 10 assists against Carnegie Mellon Feb. 23.
Washington University finished the regular season with a 23-2 record and a 13-1 mark in the UAA. The Bears won their 20th UAA Championship and earned the league's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.