March 7, 2012
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Old Dominion University freshman Ashley Betz-White was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday night at the annual conference banquet on the eve of the women's basketball tournament. Senior Tia Lewis earned All-CAA second-team honors while Myeisha Hall joined Betz-White on the all-freshman team. Junior Mairi Buchan was named to the All-Academic first team as well.
Betz-White becomes the first Lady Monarch since Alli Spence in 2000 to be named the CAA Rookie of the Year.
A native of Mechanicsburg, Pa., Betz-White, who was the only Lady Monarch to start all 30 games, led all CAA freshmen in points per game (7.9), assists, (105) and in minutes played at 31.5 per game.
She burst onto the season in her first game in a Lady Monarch uniform with a team-best 22 points in the opener against Virginia Tech, becoming the first freshman to score 20 or more points in their first game in more than 15 years.
Betz-White finished the year with three 20-point games and scored in double-figures eight times. She became the sixth rookie in school history to record 100 plus assists in their freshman season, tying Rhonda Rompola for fifth all-time.
Lewis earns the second all-conference honor of her ODU career, following up last year's Third-Team All-CAA accolade
She ranks sixth in the CAA in scoring at 16.5 points per game and fourth in rebounding at 9.0 per game, eighth in field goal percentage (.489) and second in minutes played at 35.5.
The senior finished fourth in the conference with 11 double-doubles and scored a career-best 30 points in a 68-59 win over Georgia State on January 4 and also added 10 rebounds.
Hall joins Betz-White on the All-Rookie team giving ODU two student-athletes on the same team for the first time since Monique Coker and Myriah Spence both received the honor in 2001.
She played in all 30 games, getting one start, and averaged 5.0 points per game.
Hall scored in double-figures four times and recorded a career-best 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting against Northeastern. In ODU's win in Boston on January 8, Hall went 5-of-6 from three-point range for a then career-high 15 points.
Buchan earned All-Academic first-team honors for the second time posting a 3.92 GPA in biology (pre-med).
She averaged 7.1 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game. She notched a career-high 20 points in the Lady Monarchs' 81-79 win at Hofstra on February 5.
ODU is in action on Thursday, March 8 when they take on Towson in the first round of the CAA Tournament. The winner will play No. 1 seed Delaware on Friday, March 9 at noon.