NEW ORLEANS – Three members of the University of South Alabama women's basketball program were among the group honored by the Sun Belt Conference on Monday with the release of this year's postseason award winners.
Shaforia Kines was voted first-team all-league, Antoinette Lewis was a second-team selection and Savannah Jones was chosen third-team all-Sun Belt in a vote of head coaches and media members from the conference's 12 schools.
In her final season with the program, Kines has averaged 15.4 points and four rebounds per contest, added 84 assists and 37 steals, and connected on 37.6 percent of her shots from three-point range and 79.2 percent at the foul line. In addition to leading the Jaguars in scoring and assists, and standing second in three-point field goals, three-point field-goal percentage and steals, the guard is among the top 15 in the SBC in six different statistical categories including ranking third in scoring. One of only two players on the team to record a double-double — she had two in the regular season, both in league action — Kines leads South with 25 games scoring 10-plus points including nine with 20 or more, and has topped the squad in scoring 14 times and assists on 14 occasions.
She scored a career-high 30 points at Coastal Carolina, tying a school record with seven three-point field goals in the contest, and had a game-high 29 points against Alabama. In league action, Kines posted 24 points and 11 rebounds in South's first meeting with Appalachian State, had 20 points and career-best 15 rebounds at Louisiana the following week, and scored 20-plus point in both games against Troy.
Named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 19 after recording a pair of double-doubles in two Preseason WNIT contests, Lewis is posting 13.1 points and 10 rebounds per outing, has totaled 60 blocks and 41 steals — both the most on the team — and is shooting 52.1 percent from the floor as the Jags enter postseason play. One of only two players in the Sun Belt averaging a double-double on the season, she leads the league and is 25th nationally with 14 double-doubles and stands second in the Sun Belt and among the top 35 in the country in rebounding; that includes ranking second in the nation in offensive rebounds per game. Lewis also is second in the conference and among the top 35 nationally in blocks per game as well.
The junior center has scored 10 or more points in 22 games, including five outings with 20-plus points, while recording a double-figure rebounding total on 19 occasions. She has led the Jaguars in rebounding in 24 contests, blocks 17 times and scoring in seven games, posting double-doubles against Auburn, Rutgers and Tulane.
Jones is averaging 14 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest, has been credited with 46 assists, 23 steals and 19 blocked shots, and has connected on 37.6 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 76.9 percent at the free-throw line this year. The redshirt junior leads South in three-point field goals and three-point field-goal percentage, is second in scoring, and stands third on the team in assists and blocked shots entering the conference tournament, as she paces the league and is among the top 65 in the country in both three-point field goals per game and three-point field-goal percentage. Jones has finished in double figures in 22 outings with seven contests posting 20 or more points, leading the Jaguars in scoring eight times.
She recorded season-high totals with 26 points and nine rebounds in a win over Louisiana, and had 24 points and nine rebounds to help USA rally from a 23-point deficit against Texas State including hitting two three-pointers in the final 14 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. The guard scored 23 points in a victory at Georgia Southern and had 20 in a defeat of Appalachian State as well.
Last year, Lewis was named first-team all-conference while Jones picked up second-team honors. It marks the first time that USA has had two or more players honored in consecutive seasons since the 1987-88 — when Adrian Vickers and Ella Williams were both first-team selections — and '88-89 (Vickers first-team, Williams second-team) campaigns.
USA was one of three schools to have a trio of individuals pick up all-conference honors as well, joining Coastal Carolina and Troy.
South will return to action Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. (CDT) when it meets Arkansas State in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament in Arlington, Texas.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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