Antelopes’ Samantha Murphy tabbed as Preseason Player of the Year
PHOENIX, AZ – Grand Canyon senior guard Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier Prep) has been selected as the 2010-11 Pacific West Conference Preseason Player of the Year, while her Antelopes edged Hawai‘i Pacific by a single point in the race for the PacWest Championship.
The PacWest Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team and predicted order of finish were announced during the league’s media day on Wednesday, Nov. 3, in Honolulu.
The PacWest season begins on Nov. 12 when the Antelopes face Texas Woman’s University in the opening round of the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Calif. Hawai‘i Hilo travels to Saint Martin’s (WA) that day, while Dominican (CA) visits Cal State Bakersfield.
Notre Dame de Namur and Hawai‘i Hilo tip off the conference schedule on Jan. 4 in Hawai‘i.
Grand Canyon totaled 72 points on just two first-place votes and six second-place picks to get the preseason edge, while HPU garnered five first place votes but no second-place selections to finish with 71 points. Dixie State finished third in the preseason tally with 67 points that included one first-place vote, while Notre Dame de Namur is projected fourth after amassing 59 points and one first-place vote.
Statistical anomalies aside, the race for the PacWest title should go through the final weekend of the season.
Last year HPU won the conference title with a 14-2 league record, while Grand Canyon and Dixie State tied for second with 13-3 marks. NDNU was fourth with a 12-4 league record.
The 2010-11 PacWest Preseason All-Conference Team features seven players representing five different teams, including two each from Hawai‘i Pacific and NDNU.
In addition to Murphy, the preseason list includes NDNU senior guards and twin sisters Katie Zasley (Foster City, CA/Aragon) and Laura Zasley (Foster City, CA/Aragon), HPU senior forward Jazzmin Awa-Williams (Kona, HI/Konawaena) and junior forward Mana Hopkins (Kona, HI/Konawaena), Academy of Art senior forward Jessica Nolan (Adelaide, Australia/Hallet cove School), and Dixie State sophomore forward Johnna Brown (Las Vegas, NV/Centennial).
Last season Murphy was picked as the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year, a prediction that came true when she was selected the 2009-10 PacWest Conference Player of the Year and an All-PacWest First Team choice for the third consecutive season. She was the Freshman of the Year in 2007-08.
Murphy finished the 2009-10 campaign as the conference’s leading scorer. She completed her junior year by averaging 19.0 points per game – 3.9 points higher than the next closest player. She also averaged 4.4 rebounds per game to rank 20th in the league, while her ability to dole out assists at a clip of 3.4 per game left her sixth in the PacWest in helping others.
From the field, Murphy shot 43.4% (161 for 371) to stand 12th on the season, while her premier free throw shooting ability saw her make 147 of 169 (87.0%) attempts - by far the most made and most attempted among the league’s leaders. She finished fourth in shooting from the charity stripe in 2009-10.
Murphy is a complete player who also can shoot the three and play cagey defense. She ranked fourth in steals per game (2.7) and fifth in blocked shots per contest (0.5) last season, while her 1.6 three-pointers made per game ranked sixth in the PacWest. She hit 43 of 120 (35.8%) long-distance attempts to end up eighth in three-point shooting.
Laura Zasly, who finished as the runner-up to Murphy for PacWest Player of the Year honors last season and was an All-PacWest First Team choice, was named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year last season.
She finished the 2009-10 campaign second in scoring in the conference with a 15.1 points-per-game average. She also was third in rebounding after collecting 7.1 boards per game, and 12th in assist average after doling out 2.7 per contest.
A terrific all-around player, Zasly made 39 of 109 three-point attempts (35.8%) to finish ninth in the PacWest, while her 2.9 steals per game ranked second. Zasly’s 1.4 three-pointers made per contest landed her seventh.
Zasly’s twin sister, Katie, joined her on the All-PacWest First Team last year by averaging 13.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game. She ranked fifth in thefts, ninth in assists, ninth in rebounding and seventh in scoring.
Brown was the runaway favorite for the Freshman of the Year honor last season after she garnered seven first-place votes. She also was named All-PacWest Second Team.
During the 2009-10 campaign, Brown averaged 13.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She ranked fourth in scoring, 10th in rebounding and 10th in assist average for the year in the PacWest, while her 56.0% (107 of 191) shooting from the field landed her second in the conference as a rookie. From the line, Brown made 78.0% (92 of 188) of her free throw attempts to rank eighth in the league.
Awa-Williams was an All-PacWest First Team choice last year after finishing eighth in the league in scoring. She averaged 12.4 points per game, ranked 11th in rebounding by pulling down 5.8 caroms per contest, and shot 54.7% (123 for 225) from the field to land fourth in the PacWest. She also averaged 2.6 assists (14th) per game.
Hopkins finished ninth in scoring in the conference, right behind Awa-Williams, after she averaged 11.9 points per game. She shot 43.9% (115 for 262) from the field to rank 11th, and made 57 of 76 free throw attempts (75.0%) to finish 15th. Her 0.6 blocks-per-game average landed her fourth in the PacWest.
The two-time All-PacWest selection was a First Team pick last year and a Second Team choice two seasons ago.
Nolan earned Second Team honors last year by averaging 10.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, finishing 18th in scoring in the PacWest while leading the league in glass domination. She also ranked eighth in assists per game (2.9) and fifth in shooting (50.0%) after making 109 of 218 field goal attempts. Nolan’s resume also included 2.0 steals per game - good enough for 11th in the league.
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