NEW ORLEANS – After helping the University of South Alabama women's basketball team record 15 wins, 11 Sun Belt wins and make its first Sun Belt Championships appearance in three seasons, sophomores Chyna Ellis and Marquita Daniels were each selected Third-Team all-Sun Belt Conference Wednesday as by the conference office, while Ellis also became the first Jaguar to ever be named the Sun Belt's Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year. The 15-member all-SBC squad was selected by the 11 conference coaches and selected media members.
Ellis and Daniels' all-conference selection marks the first postseason honor for either player. It is also the 39th and 40th all-conference selections in program history and they are the 24th and 25th Jags to earn all-conference honors. The multiple-Jag all-conference selection marks the first time since the '08-09 season that USA has had more than one player earn all-SBC honors in the same season when Jessica Starling and Shakira Nettles were named to the second team.
Ellis is the first South Alabama player to earn individual postseason honors since the 2004-05 season when JoAnna Williams was named the SBC's Newcomer of the Year.
Chyna Ellis (South Alabama, Sophomore, Center, Allied Health)
2016 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Third-Team All-Sun Belt Conference Selection
Ellis – a preseason Third-Team all-SBC selection – ranked third on the team this season in scoring, averaging 8.1 points per game, while also pulling down 7.8 rebounds per outing, which ranked fourth in the league. The Cordova, Tenn., native recorded a team-best five double-doubles this season.
She leads the Sun Belt and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in blocks – fifth-most among sophomores nationally – with 2.72 per game. Her 79 blocks this season are 20th-most nationally and have already surpassed her tally (56) her freshman single-season blocks record.
Her defensive presence in the middle has played a key role in South Alabama ranking as one of the top defensive clubs in the conference, leading the SBC in blocks, field-goal percentage and three-point field-goal defense.
Ellis recorded double figures 10 times this season, and also pulled down double-figure rebounds eight times. Against Appalachian State (2/18), Ellis moved past former Jag Genevieve Delk (65 – 2003-04) for second on South Alabama's single-season blocks chart.
Coming into the tournament, she is just seven blocks shy of tying LaSandra Jenkins for the all-time single-season mark. Ellis has recorded five or more blocks six times this season and in her 20 conference games, she averaged 3.05 bpg. She had two or more blocks in 25 of her 29 games.
The 6-2 sophomore recorded a career-high seven blocks against regular-season champ Arkansas State in USA's second conference game of the year. Her best game of the season came in a road victory over Georgia State where she had 18 points and 12 rebounds to go along with her five blocks.
Marquita Daniels (South Alabama, Sophomore, Guard, Criminal Justice)
Third-Team All-Sun Belt Conference Selection
Daniels was a key reason for South Alabama's dramatic mid-season turnaround. Since the eight-point win at Georgia State, Daniels has averaged 12.3 ppg and shot 39.9 percent from the field, including 35.7 percent from the three-point line. She has also knocked down 25 of her 34 treys during that 17-game stretch, while shooting 75.0 percent at the charity stripe. Daniels has also recorded double figures in nine of her last 14.
Daniels enters the postseason ranked among the conference leaders in scoring (17th - 11.4 ppg) and tied for second in steals (2.2). She has also recorded 15 double-figure scoring games this season and led the club in that category 13 times. Daniels has scored double figures in 11 of her 20 conference games, including nine of her last 12.
The Atlanta, Ga., native had multiple steal games on 15 occasions this season. Her 57 steals are third-most on USA's sophomore single-season steals list.
Daniels was named both the Sun Belt Conference's Student-Athlete of the Week and the Sun Belt's Player of the Week by CollegeSportsMadness.com on Feb. 1 after leading the Jags to wins on the road to Troy (75-71) and Appalachian State (71-55). In those two outings, she averaged 19.5 ppg and 4. 0 rpg, while also adding five assists and three steals.
The sophomore scored a season-high 26 points and five steals vs. UL Lafayette in Mobile.
The fifth-seeded Jaguars (15-14, 11-9 SBC) will open up play at this year's Sun Belt Conference Championships on Wednesday against fourth-seeded Troy. Tip-off versus the Trojans is set for 2 p.m. at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La.
2016 Sun Belt All-Conference Teams First Team All-Sun Belt ConferenceKhadija Brown-Haywood (Arkansas State, Senior, Forward, Early Childhood Education)
Aundrea Gamble (Arkansas State, Senior, Guard, Master of Arts in Teaching)
Shanity James (Little Rock, Senior, Forward, Sociology)
Keke Veal (UL Lafayette, Senior, Guard, Sport Management)
Ashley Beverly Kelley (Troy, Senior, Guard, Exercise Science)
Second Team All-Sun Belt ConferenceAlexius Dawn (Little Rock, Senior, Guard, Sociology)
Angel McGowan (Georgia Southern, Junior, Guard, Exercise Science)
Kia Wilridge (UL Lafayette, Senior Guard, Exercise Science)
Alayshia Hunter (UL Monroe, Senior, Forward, Kinesiology)
Rebekah VanDijk (UT Arlington, Sophomore, Center, Pre-Law)
Third Team All-Sun Belt ConferenceBrittney Gill (Arkansas State, Senior, Guard, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Chyna Ellis (South Alabama, Sophomore, Center, Allied Health)
Marquita Daniels (South Alabama, Sophomore, Guard, Criminal Justice)Cierra Johnson (UT Arlington, Sophomore, Guard, Child Psychology/Pre-Med)
Caitlyn Ramirez (Troy, Junior, Forward, Psychology)
2016 Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the YearAundrea Gamble, Arkansas State
2016 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Student-Athlete of the YearChyna Ellis, South Alabama 2016 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the YearMadison Newby, Georgia State
2016 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the YearBrian Boyer, Arkansas State
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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Brian Boyer, Arkansas State
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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