NEW ORLEANS – The University of South Alabama women's basketball's junior center Chyna Ellis was selected to the Third-Team All-Sun Belt Conference on Monday as announced by the conference office.  The 15-member All-SBC squad was selected by the 12 conference coaches and selected media members.
 
Ellis' all-conference selection marks the third postseason honor for her, as she was also on the third-team and won the defensive player of the year last season.  It is also the 41st all-conference selection in program history.
 
Ellis – a preseason second-team all-conference selection – led the team in scoring (10.8 points per game), field goal percentage (38.0%), rebounding (7.9 rebounds per game) and blocks (3.1 blocks per game). The Cordova, Tenn., native recorded the only four double-doubles by a Jag this season.
 
Known for her blocking skills, Ellis has set numerous records and climbed all-time marks for rejections.  She has recorded a block in each game played this season, averaging 3.1 rejections per game that tops the Sun Belt and ranks seventh in the NCAA.  She is also ninth in the nation and first in the conference in total blocked shots (87).  Her total number of blocks this season are more than six of the schools in the conference have as a team, and her average rejections per game is greater than seven teams' average.
 
Ellis became the schools' all-time leader in career blocks after recording a game-high and season-high six rejections in the 54-41 win over Appalachian State on Feb. 14th that gave her 212 career rejections, passing LaSandra Jenkins' (1982-85) 210 blocks.  She now has 225 career blocks, ranking third among all-time career rejections in the Sun Belt Conference.  She needs just 59 more blocks to become the all-time leader in blocks for the conference. 
 
Her 87 rejections this year is the most in a single-season in program history, surpassing Jenkins' single-season blocks record (86 rejections) set in 1983.  She had five blocks in the last game of the regular season, a 71-49 win over Arkansas State which gave her record after previously being tied for second place with her blocks total from last year.
 
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.  The Jags lead the league in blocked shots (164), blocked shots per game (5.7) and field goal percentage defense (37.5%).  South Alabama ranks 15th in the nation in blocked shots per game and 19th in total blocked shots.
 
Ellis has recorded double figures 16 times this season and pulled down eight double-figure rebounding games.
 
The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy.  New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your our ticket office.  For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship – Women's Championship – and be sure to follow the @FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.
 
Join the Hardwood Club, the women's basketball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All gifts to the Hardwood Club go directly to support the South Alabama women's basketball program. For more information on how you can join visit:  http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Hardwood%20Club.aspx?id=28
 
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).