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Four Mountaineers Earn Big 12 Honors
March 02, 2016 04:32 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Four West Virginia University players were honored with 2015-16 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Conference Women’s Basketball Awards, as selected by the league’s coaches on Wednesday. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
Senior Bria Holmes was named a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection, while juniorLanay Montgomery garnered All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Defensive Team accolades. Tynice Martin was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and was tabbed to the All-Freshman Team. Senior Arielle Roberson was selected as All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
“It is great to see these four ladies honored for their hard work,” coach Mike Carey said. “They were critical to our success this year and helped us finish third in a very good Big 12 Conference. What can you say about Bria Holmes? She will go down as one of the greatest players to put on the West Virginia University uniform. I am proud of everything she has been able to accomplish the past four years.
“Lanay Montgomery has made tremendous strides since her freshman year and is one of the best defensive players in our league. She worked hard in the offseason to improve and it shows. Tynice Martin has really stepped up in league play, providing a spark for us off the bench. She has an explosive mid-range jumper and is one of the best freshmen in the country. Arielle has been a great asset to our team this season. After missing nearly two years of basketball, she came back and accepted her role as a strong rebounder. She made a significant impact in her season here. I am very proud of all of our players for their accomplishments this season.”
Holmes, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, ranked second in the Big 12 with 16.9 points per game. Her 3.6 assists per contest were eighth in the conference. Holmes reached double-figures in 28 of 31 games this season. She has tallied 524 points in her senior campaign, becoming the first Mountaineer to score 500 or more points in three consecutive seasons. The guard scored a season-high 30 points in the win over TCU on Feb. 24 and followed that performance with 27 points in WVU’s win over then No. 22 Oklahoma State to earn her first-ever Big 12 Player of the Week honor on Feb. 29. Additionally, the Senior CLASS Award Finalist and All-America candidate was named to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) weekly Starting Five on Wednesday. Holmes is third all-time in scoring at West Virginia and is the Big 12’s active career scoring leader with 1,936 points. She is 64 points away from becoming the third WVU player to reach 2,000 career points. Holmes joins Mountaineer legend Rosemary Kosiorek as the only players in program history to earn three first team all-conference honors.
Montgomery, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, garnered the first All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Defensive Team distinctions in her career. The junior averaged 8.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Montgomery produced 11 double-figure scoring games, 11 double-figure rebounding efforts and registered six double-doubles this season. Her 61.6 field goal percentage is second in the conference and is on pace to break West Virginia’s single-season shooting mark. Montgomery’s 2.7 blocks per game are second in the league. The center has blocked 85 shots, good for WVU’s single-season list for a junior and fifth all-time in a single-season. Montgomery has registered 219 career blocks, which is third at West Virginia and 10th all-time in the Big 12. Montgomery joins Jess Harlee (2013-14) and Asya Bussie (2014) as Mountaineers to earn a spot on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. She is the fourth player to earn All-Big 12 recognition joining Christal Caldwell (2013), Bussie (2014) and Holmes (2014-16).
As a freshman, Martin produced a solid rookie campaign. The Atlanta native registered double figures 16 times this season, 12 in league play. She is third on the team in scoring with 9.7 points per game and averaged 11.2 points per contest in conferece games to rank second on the squad. Martin has made 22 consecutive free throws dating back to Dec. 30 against Texas. She was twice named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Jan. 11 and Jan. 18. She is 16 points away from reaching WVU’s freshman top-10 scoring list. Martin’s 83.3 free throw percentage (45-of-54) presently ranks third all-time for a Mountaineer freshman. The Freshman of the Year honor is the first for WVU since joining the league in 2012-13 and only the second in program history when Meg Bulger was tabbed the Big EAST Freshman of the Year in 2004. Martin is the second All-Big 12 Freshman selection, joining Holmes in 2013 and the 17th Mountaineer in school history to earn All-Freshman distinction.
Roberson rounds out West Virginia’s honorees, as an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection. Roberson, a graduate transfer from Colorado, has been one of the team’s top rebounders. The senior has tallied 7.7 boards per game this season. Her 9.6 rebounds per contest in league games ranked second, while her 3.7 offensive rebounds per game paced the conference. Roberson also led the Mountaineers with 1.7 steals per contest overall and ranked second in the Big 12 with 2.3 steals in league games. Roberson, the 2013 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, previously earned Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention while at Colorado.
Oklahoma State’s Jim Littell was voted the league’s Coach of the Year. OSU’s Brittney Martin was named Big 12 Player of the Year, while sharing Defensive Player of the Year honors with Texas’ Imani Boyette. Baylor’s Alexis Jones was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year and Oklahoma’s Vionise Pierre-Louis claimed the Sixth Man Award.
No. 22-ranked West Virginia recorded a 23-8 overall record and placed third in the Big 12 with a 12-6 mark for its second-highest finish since joining the league. The No. 3-seed Mountaineers face No. 6-seed Kansas State in the quarterfinal round of the Phillips 66 Women’s Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 5. Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The game will be televised locally on ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh and regionally on FOX Sports Net. The winner of Saturday’s contest will face the winner of the No. 2-seed Texas vs. winner of the TCU/Kansas game on Sunday, March 6 at 5 p.m. ET.
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