Monday, February 28, 2005

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. (Feb. 28, 2005) - Lady Bucs senior forward Tiffani Mayes (Sumter, S.C.) has been selected as the Southern Conference Player of the Year, the announcement came from Chattanooga, Tenn., site of the 2005 Conference Championship Tournament beginning this Wednesday.  Mayes led the SoCon in points all season long averaging 20.5 ppg. heading into tournament play, while the mark also ranked her as high as sixth in the nation this season.  Also garnering all-conference first-team honors was Lady Bucs point guard B.J. Banjo (Baltimore, Md.) who posted a 15.5 ppg. average, led the Bucs with a 38.7 average from beyond the arc, and holds a team-high 81 percent average from the charity stripe.

"We are very proud of both Tiffani and B.J.  They both worked extremely hard leading up to the season last summer and info the fall semester.  Tt has shown with their outstanding performance on the court," Lady Bucs head coach Karen Kemp said. 

Chattanooga's head coach Wes Moore captured Coach of the Year honors, while UNC Greensboro's Kristen Boone was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year. 

The Bucs will face Appalachian State in opening round action from Chattanooga on Wednesday with a 2:30 p.m. start time.  Pre-game coverage will begin on the Mountain States Health Alliance Buccaneer Sports Network beginning at 1:30 p.m.

The complete list of honorees is below:

First Team All-Southern Conference

Tiffani Mayes - ETSU

B.J. Banjo - ETSU

Katie Hamilton  - Davidson

Katasha Brown  - UTC

Jennifer Gardner - WCU

Tiffani Roberson  - UTC

Jen Nadalin - Furman

Nicole Mattison  - UTC

Patrice Bryant - College of Charleston

Tommi Paris - Furman

All-Freshman Team

Kristen Boone - UNCG

Danielle Hemerka - Davidson

Chrissy Phelps - Furman

Laura Hall - UTC

Brooke Hand - UTC

Player of the Year: Tiffani Mayes - ETSU

Coach of the Year: Wes Moore - UTC

Freshman of the Year: Kristen Boone - UNCG