Four University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball players were honored by the Southern Conference’s coaches and media Tuesday, led by guard Alicia Payne being named Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Jasmine Joyner was named first-team all-league by both the coaches and the media, while Queen Alford and Keiana Gilbert each earned second-team honors.
The 6-foot-2 Joyner earned her second consecutive first-team all-league nod after averaging 13 points and 9.3 rebounds while blocking 114 shots. She led the league in both rebounds and blocks, with her block average of 4.1 more than the next three players combined.
Payne was assigned the other team’s primary perimeter scoring option all season long, and responded in kind to the challenge. She finished with 39 steals and was the front line of defense for a UTC team that allowed a league-low 49.8 points per game against league competition. She also averaged 6.4 points and 3.8 assists per game, with a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, good enough for second-team all-league honors.
Alford finished 11th in the league in scoring at 10.4 points per game and was second in 3-point percentage at 41.8 percent. In league play, she averaged a team-high 14.1 points per contest and shooting 46.8 percent from 3 while adding 4.8 rebounds.
Gilbert averaged 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while stepping into more of a ball-handling and facilitator role with the loss of Chelsey Shumpert to a knee injury in November.
The UTC women (21-7) face Western Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament Thursday at 4.
For a full story, read Wednesday’s Times Free Press.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.
Queen, Key, Red – coaches 2nd team
Queen, Key – media 2nd team