March 9, 2015
IRVING- Texas - Old Dominion sophomore Jennie Simms is the C-USA Newcomer of the Year. The forward ranks second in the conference in scoring at 18.8 ppg, upping that to 19.9 in league action, to receive a first-team nod. She has 10 double-doubles this year and has logged double-figure points in all but three games with 12 games of topping the 20-point mark, including a career-high 45-point outburst in the 80-67 win at FIU. The Accokeek, Maryland, native holds an 8.0 rebounds per game average.
Regular-season champion and league newcomer WKU headlines the 2014-15 Conference USA Women's Basketball specialty awards following an impressive showing in the Lady Toppers' inaugural season in C-USA. Senior forward Chastity Gooch is the league's Player of the Year, while teammate Kendall Noble was elected the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. WKU's Michelle Clark-Heard was voted the Conference USA Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Toppers to a C-USA-record 27 regular-season victories. Clark-Heard also earned Coach of the Year honors with the Sun Belt in 2013.
After being tabbed the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, Gooch was the only player to be unanimously elected First-Team All-Conference USA. Gooch, a member of the Wade Watch List, has been the Lady Toppers' most consistent performer on the court, averaging 17.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The forward was a driving force in WKU's regular-season conference title as well as the squad's Preseason WNIT run to the championship game, where she was selected to the 2014 Preseason Women's NIT All-Tournament Team. Gooch was also named to the five-woman C-USA All-Defensive Team after grabbing 62 steals and swatting 39 blocks on the year. An undersized post player, Gooch has consistently drawn defensive assignments against bigger players and has succeeding in shutting down the opposition.
Noble was voted to the league's second team as well as the all-defensive squad after anchoring a stubborn Lady Topper defense. The guard is one of the nation's most versatile players, averaging 11.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 3.2 steals and nearly a block per game. Noble has connected on 51.5 percent from the field this season, while posting a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. She set the WKU single-season record for steals with 95 and tied the C-USA single-game record with 10 steals at North Texas on Feb. 5, becoming just the sixth player in league history with 10 in a game.
FIU's Kiandre'a Pound is the recipient of the Freshman of the Year award after being named C-USA Freshman of the Week a league-best six times. The debutant led all Panthers scorers on the season with 14.8 points per game, ranking 10th among all players in C-USA. Pound registered 22 double-figure scoring games, including seven of 20-plus points. She also averaged 7.0 rebounds per contest and notched eight double-doubles on the year.
Rounding out the specialty awards is the Sixth Player of the Year, Brandi Wingate of Louisiana Tech. After two years off due to injury, the redshirt junior has been the Lady Techsters' most productive player off the bench averaging 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 55.8 percent from the field. In league play, Wingate has upped her averages to 11.1 points on 58.6 percent field goal shooting and 5.3 boards per contest. She has totaled 12 double-figure scoring efforts, with 10 of those coming in C-USA games.
The 2015 Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship, hosted by UAB in Birmingham, Alabama, tips off Wednesday, March 11, with first-round games at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. CT. The first two rounds will be played at Bartow Arena on the campus of UAB before moving over to Legacy Arena at the BJCC for the semifinals and championship.
2014-15 Conference USA Women's Basketball Specialty Awards
Player of the Year: Chastity Gooch, WKU
Defensive Player of the Year: Kendall Noble, WKU
Freshman of the Year: Kiandre'a Pound, FIU
Newcomer of the Year: Jennie Simms, Old Dominion
Sixth Player of the Year: Brandi Wingate, Louisiana Tech
Coach of the Year: Michelle Clark-Heard, WKU
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