The South Atlantic Conference Announces 2017-18 Women's Basketball Annual Awards

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSac.com) – Wingate forward Marta Miscenko and Carson-Newman guard Haris Price have been voted as the 2017-18 South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Co-Players of the Year, while Anderson' Alexis Dillard was voted Defensive Player of the Year. Lincoln Memorial's Qua Hines was voted as the Conference's Freshman of the Year and Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey was tabbed the Coach of the Year, the League announced today.

Miscenko, a senior from Riga, Latvia, had an outstanding season for the Bulldogs as she as among the league leaders in points and rebounds per game, averaging 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, which ranked her fifth in the league in scoring and rebounds.  She is also one the top defenders in both the NCAA and the SAC. She currently ranks second in the SAC and 25^th in the NCAA in blocked shots with 66 on the year and she is second in the conference and 21^st in the nation in blocks per game, with an average of 2.64 per game.  Miscenko scored in double figures in 20 of 26 games this season, including scoring 31 points against Lenoir-Rhyne on Jan. 10. Her efforts on the court earned her SAC AstroTurf Women's Basketball Player of the Week twice and she helped guide the Bulldogs to a No. 21 national ranking.

Haris, a junior from Gatlinburg, Tenn., was named SAC AstroTurf Women's Basketball Player of the Week three times for her efforts on the court this season. She finished the regular season as the conference leader in points and steals per game, averaging 17.5 points per game and 2.9 steals per game. One of the top shooters in the conference, Haris shot 51.9 percent from the field this season and hit 83.8 percent from the charity stripe. Haris scored double figures in 26 of 29 games this season, including scoring a career high 38 points against Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 17. Thanks to her efforts, Carson-Newman won its first SAC Regular Season Women's Basketball Championship since the 1991-92 season, is currently ranked No. 7 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national poll and is No. 1 in the NCAA Southeast Region Poll.

Dillard, a senior forward from Taylors, S.C., finished the 2017-18 season ranked second in the league in total rebounds with 242, and fourth in rebounds per game with 8.3. She also ranked fourth in blocks with 39 on the year. She averaged 11.4 points per game and scored in double figures in 19 games during the season. She hauled in 10 or more rebounds in 11 games and had 12 multi-block games. Her efforts on the court earned her SAC AstroTurf Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors twice this season.

Hines, a forward from Gatlinburg, Tenn., had a fantastic start to her collegiate career, averaging 8.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She is ranked in the top 15 in the conference in steals with 38 and free throw percentage at 74.7. She scored in double figures in ten games this season, including a career high 24 point performance against Coker on Jan. 26. With her help, the Railsplitters are currently ranked No. 10 in the NCAA Southeast Region Poll.

Mincey led the Eagles to their first SAC Women's Basketball Championship since the 1991-92 season. They finished the regular season with a record of 26-2 overall, going 18-2 in conference play. Under his leadership the Eagles are currently ranked No. 7 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and were ranked as high as No. 3 nationally. They are also the ranked No.1 in the NCAA Southeast Region Poll.

Rounding out the selections for the All-Conference First Team were Mika Wester from Carson-Newman, Terri Rogers from Catawba and Meg Essex of Newberry.

2017-18 South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball All-Conference

First Team

Marta Miscenko, Wingate

Haris Price, Carson-Newman

Mika Wester, Carson-Newman

Terri Rogers, Catawba

Meg Essex, Newberry

Alexis Dillard, Anderson

Second Team

Caroline Averette, Wingate

Shea Coker, Lincoln Memorial

Kayla Marosites, Carson-Newman

Serena Brown, Catawba

Danasia Witherspoon, Wingate

Shelby Britten, Newberry

Honorable Mention

Madi Suddreth, Lenoir-Rhyne

Alexy Mollenhauer, Anderson

Briana Smith, Carson-Newman

Lade Adepoju, Queens

Kasey Johnson, Tusculum

Sydney Wilson, Tusculum

All-Freshman

Qua Hines, Lincoln Memorial

Taisha DeShazo, Catawba

Kennedy Weigt, Lenoir-Rhyne

Hannah Stull, Coker

Talia Barnes, Catawba

Kristian Eanes, Queens

Co-Player of the Year

Marta Miscenko, Wingate
Haris Price, Carson-Newman

Freshman of the Year

Qua Hines, Lincoln Memorial

Defensive Player of the Year

Alexis Dillard, Anderson

Coach of the Year

Mike Mincey, Carson-Newman