OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The University of South Alabama's Antoinette Lewis has been selected as a candidate for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award® it was announced on Monday.
The Memphis, Tenn., native is one of 30 individuals eligible to claim the honor that goes to the student-athlete who excels both on and off the court in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition.
In helping the Jaguars to an 11-7 record — including an 8-4 start in Sun Belt Conference action — this season, Lewis has averaged 11 points and nine rebounds per contest while adding 41 blocked shots, 32 assists and 26 steals. She leads the league in blocks per outing and is third in rebounding, ranking 15th in the nation in the former category and 75th in the latter.
At the end of last month Lewis became the third player in South's history to record 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 100 blocks in a career, as she currently ranks third on the career record list in the last two statistics while sitting 24 points shy of moving into the top five in scoring. She has posted 75 games with 10 or more points and 49 outings with at least 10 rebounds, and stands third all-time at USA with 37 double-doubles. Lewis is also among the top 10 on the Sun Belt's career record lists in rebounding and blocked shots, as well as ranking among the top 10 active leaders at the NCAA Division I level in both categories and double-doubles.
She received her undergraduate degree from South Alabama in December, graduating with a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average in the exercise science program, and has earned academic recognition from the SBC following each of her first three seasons with the program. Lewis has performed volunteer activities with the Special Olympics and the Salvation Army, and taken part in events at St. Mary's Home, the South Optimist Club, Cottage Hill Christian Academy and Causey Middle School since coming to South. She has also volunteered at the First Light Marathon, assisted in a project to clean up Mobile and contributed during the University's Move In Day on three different occasions as well.
Lewis is the only individual from the Sun Belt chosen as a candidate for the honor.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The list of candidates will be narrowed to a field of 10 finalists in late February, with those names placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will then select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2021 NCAA Women's Final Four® this spring.
Lewis and the Jaguars have a pair of games scheduled against Troy this week, with the two teams meeting first at Trojan Arena Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) before a 4 p.m. match-up Saturday at the Mitchell Center.
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).
Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
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