2016-17 All-OVC Release
Austin Peay's Tearra Banks was named the 2016-17 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year while Belmont's Sally McCabe was selected as the OVC Defensive Player of the Year as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. UT Martin's Kendall Spray was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year while Coach of the Year honors went to Belmont's Cameron Newbauer.
Banks, a native of Louisville, Ky., earns her first Player of the Year honor. The senior center is second in the league with 19.3 points per game while ranking first with 8.0 rebounds each time out. The first team All-OVC selection lead the league while ranking 13th in the nation with a 60.5 field goal percentage. Banks has scored in double figures in all but two games this season and has hit the 30-point mark three times. She also notched 10 double-doubles this season. During OVC play, Banks recorded a league-leading 21.9 points per game. She is currently the Conference's career active leader in scoring with 1,422 points. She is the third Governor to earn Player of the Year honors joining Brooke Armistead (2002-03) and Gerlonda Hardin (2003-04).
A native of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., McCabe earns her second straight Defensive Player of the Year award. The junior center ranks 15th in the nation with a league-leading 2.7 blocks per game. She has recorded a season-high seven blocks twice this year. The first team All-OVC pick is currently second on the league's career active blocks list. McCabe is third in the OVC with 7.9 rebounds per game while also ranking among league-leaders with 12.0 points each time out. She has reached double-digits in points 19 times this season and has recorded five double-doubles. McCabe is just the second student-athlete in OVC history to win back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards, joining former UT Martin standout Jasmine Newsome who won the awards in 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Spray, a freshman guard from Lebanon, Tenn., leads all OVC Freshman with 12.7 points per game to rank 15th in the league this year. The All-OVC second team and All-Newcomer pick is fifth in the OVC with a 39.4 3-point field goal percentage. She set a new school freshman single-season three-pointers made mark, surpassing former standout Heather Butler, with 87 treys made this year. Spray is second in the league with 3.0 three-pointers made each time out and has hit eight treys in a game twice this season. She reached 20 or more points four times this year, including scoring a season-best 33 against Eastern Illinois. She is the third Skyhawk to earn Freshman of the Year honors joining Heather Butler (2010-11) and Ashia Jones (2013-14).
Newbauer earns his first OVC Coach of the Year honor after leading his team to a perfect 16-0 league mark in the regular-season. It marks the seventh time in OVC history that a team has finished the regular-season undefeated in league action. The Bruins have now won 32 of its last 33 games against OVC opponents, including tournament play. Belmont currently has the second longest winning streak in the nation as it has won its last 18 games entering the tournament. Newbauer is the first Bruin coach to win Coach of the Year honors.
ALL-OVC
Joining Banks and McCabe as first team selections are Belmont sophomore guard Darby Maggard and redshirt junior forward Kylee Smith; Eastern Illinois junior guard Grace Lennox; Eastern Kentucky senior forward Jalen O'Bannon; Morehead State redshirt senior guard Brianna McQueen; Murray State junior forward/guard Ke'Shunan James; Southeast Missouri senior guard Bri Mitchell; and Tennessee Tech junior guard Yaktavia Hickson.
A native of Larwill, Ind. Maggard ranks eighth in the league with 14.3 points per game while leading the league in 3-point field goal percentage (49.5%) and three-pointers made per game (3.4).
Smith, a native of Alpharetta, Ga., is sixth in the Conference with 15.2 points each time out this season. She also ranks among league-leaders in assists (3.4 apg) and free throw percentage (77.1%).
A product of Hobart, Tasmania, Lennox is foutrh in the OVC with 16.3 points per game while ranking fifth with 4.4 assists each time out. She is also fifth in the league with 1.9 steals per game.
O'Bannon, a native of Memphis, Tenn., is 11th in the league with 13.7 points per game and is 10th with 6.8 rebounds per outing. She is also among OVC leaders with 1.2 blocks per game this season.
A native of Jonesboro, Ga., McQueen averaged 13.7 points in the regular-season to rank 10th in the league. She has dished out 3.6 assists per game this year to rank 11th.
James, a native of Jackson, Tenn., leads the league with 20.5 points per game while also ranking fifth with 7.3 boards per outing. She is also 10th in field goal percentage (48.1%) and ninth in assists (3.8 apg)
A product of Germantown, Tenn., Mitchell has recorded 15.4 points per game this year to rank fifth in the league. She had dished out 145 assists over 29 games to rank third with an average of 5.0.
Hickson, a native of Stone Mountain, Ga., ranks third in the OVC with 16.7 points per game. She is also third in the league, making 84.1 percent of her free throw attempts.
Joining Spray on the 2016-17 All-OVC second team are UT Martin junior forward Ashton Feldhaus (Richmond, Ky.) and Myah Taylor (Dyersburg, Tenn.); Morehead State sophomore guard Miranda Crockett (Martinsville, Va.); and junior guard Donshel Beck (St. Louis, Mo.).
Feldhaus is among league leaders with 11.4 points per game while Taylor has put up 12.5 points each time out to rank 17th. Crockett is seventh in the OVC with a 49.4 field goal percentage while Beck has scored 14.8 points per game to rank 7th in the conference.
Making up the All-Newcomer team with Spray and Feldhaus are Eastern Kentucky redshirt senior Shavontae Naylor (Ocala, Fla.); Jacksonville State senior guard Lacey Buchanon (Jacksonville, Ala.) and SIUE redshirt sophomore Nakiah Bell (St. Louis, Mo.)
Naylor ranks among league leaders with 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while Buchanon is second on the team with 10.9 points per outing. Bell is third on the team with 10.8 points per game while also recording 42 steals to tie for the team lead.
2016-17 All-Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Teams
(voted on by the league's head basketball coaches and sports information directors)
FIRST TEAM
Tearra Banks, Austin Peay
Ke'Shunan James, Murray State*
Darby Maggard, Belmont*
Kylee Smith, Belmont*
Grace Lennox, Eastern Illinois
Brianna McQueen, Morehead State%
Yaktavia Hickson, Tennessee Tech
Sally McCabe, Belmont*
Jalen O'Bannon, Eastern Kentucky*
Bri Mitchell, Southeast Missouri%
SECOND TEAM
Donshel Beck, SIUE
Miranda Crockett, Morehead State
Ashton Feldhaus, UT Martin
Kendall Spray, UT Martin
Myah Taylor, UT Martin
ALL-NEWCOMER
Ashton Feldhaus, UT Martin
Kendall Spray, UT Martin
Shavontae Naylor, Eastern Kentucky
Lacey Buchanon, Jacksonville State
Nakiah Bell, SIUE
OVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tearra Banks, Austin Peay
OVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kendall Spray, UT Martin
OVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sally McCabe, Belmont
OVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Cameron Newbauer, Belmont
* - 2015-16 First Team All-OVC
% - 2015-16 Second Team All-OVC