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Alex Anderson
Alex Anderson was the best women’s basketball player in the Southern Conference this season from start to finish, scoring 27 points in her SoCon opener and scoring 17, with 10 rebounds, in the finale. So it was hardly surprising Monday when the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior forward was named the league’s player of the year for the second season in a row.
Also, Wes Moore was voted coach of the year for the fifth time in his 10 seasons at UTC, after leading the Lady Mocs to a record of 26-3, including an 18-0 run through the SoCon and a 21-game win streak, which is tied with No. 18 UTEP for the longest ongoing in NCAA Division I.
The Southern Conference Sports Media Association announced the honors five days after Anderson closed out the regular season against Western Carolina with her 10th double-double of the season. Anderson averaged 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season — 18.7 points per game in SoCon play — and UTC earned its ninth consecutive regular-season title.
Anderson was voted player of the week six times this season and is the fifth women’s player in SoCon history to be named the conference’s top player twice.
“I get excited, but it’s kind of a team award for me,” Anderson said, “because if I didn’t have my teammates, the great shooters outside, I probably wouldn’t be open all the time down low. I’m happy I got it, but I also have to stay humble with it.”
Sophomore forward Shanara Hollinquest was voted second-team all-conference. Hollinquest’s overall averages of 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds were good, but she was even better against SoCon opponents. In SoCon play, Hollinquest averaged 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, highlighted by 31 points at Georgia Southern on Feb. 25.
A case for Hollinquest’s inclusion on the first team could easily be made. She led the SoCon in field-goal percentage (.604) by a wide margin, was fifth in the SoCon in scoring and 10th in rebounding.
“I was hoping to make the first team, but it’s nice to be recognized either way,” Hollinquest said.
Wofford’s Mahagony Williams was named freshman of the year after averaging 8.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and a SoCon-best 2.0 blocks per game.
John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women’s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...
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