LAKELAND, Fla. – Four players from regular-season champion Southeastern headline the 10-member All-Conference Women’s Basketball first team in The Sun Conference. The now four-time defending league champion and NAIA Division II No. 1-ranked Fire also provided the conference’s Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. The honors – which included first- and second-team players, Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year and Champion of Character award winner – were all presented at the conference’s banquet Thursday night on the campus of Southeastern University in advance of Friday’s semifinals and Saturday’s championship game in the 2019-20 Sun Conference Tournament.
The selections were made in a vote of the 10 conference coaches.
Southeastern junior Taylah Simmons earned Player of the Year honors after leading her Fire squad to a perfect 18-0 league mark and a 26-2 overall record. Simmons, a 6-1 forward, was named The Sun’s Player of the Week on six occasions this season (out of 16 weekly awards) and went on to win NAIA Division II National Player of the Week recognition twice. The Melbourne, Australia, native led both The Sun Conference and all of NAIA Division II with an average of 24.1 points per game. She topped the 30-point mark on seven occasions and posted a season-best 45 points in SEU’s 115-59 home win over Keiser on Jan. 11. Simmons also topped the conference in field goal percentage (.594) and was third in the league in steals per game (2.64), showing her prowess on the defensive end of the court as well.
Coastal Georgia freshman guard Kaliyah Little was named The Sun Conference’s Freshman of the Year. Little, a 5-5 guard from Warner Robins, Ga., ranked second on a very balanced Coastal Georgia team with an average of 11.1 points per game. She made just 13 starts and amassed that double-digits scoring average in less than 24 minutes of playing time per game.
Thomas University senior guard Samantha Gilbert was voted the prestigious honor of Champion of Character for women’s basketball in The Sun Conference. Gilbert, a native of Largo, Fla., is a team lead member of Goalline Ministries on the TU campus. Goalline is a community and student outreach program within Thomasville that created the adopt-a-parent program for Thomas University student-athletes. Goalline also provides counseling services for Thomas students and sponsors campus events where worship, games, good food, and common fellowship are encouraged among all participants. Gilbert is also a leader on campus working as the Assistant Residence Hall Director. She started a weekly gathering within her dorm where students came to share their experiences that enabled positive connections within the campus and the community. In what little spare time she enjoys, Gilbert also volunteers at the local boys and girls club to help support Thomasville youth.
Southeastern’s fourth-year head coach Tim Hays was named The Sun’s Coach of the Year for the third straight season. Hays has led the Fire to regular-season conference championships in all four years and is seeking to lead his team to its fourth consecutive Sun tournament title this coming weekend. Adding his 26-2 mark from this season to his first three years at Southeastern, Hays has amassed a 116-7 record with the Fire. In three trips to the NAIA Division II Championship Tournament with the Fire, Hays has led his squad to a pair of finishes in the quarterfinal round and a runner-up spot in the 2018-19 event. Hays’ four Southeastern teams have not lost a single regular-season Sun contest (70-0) or a Sun Conference tournament game.
The Sun Conference All-Conference teams:
First Team
Tianna Ayulo, Johnson & Wales, F (Jr.)
Isis Lane, Florida Memorial, F (Sr.)
Reagan Linster, Southeastern, G (So.)
Kaliyah Little, Coastal Georgia, G (Fr.)
Midori Long, Keiser, F (Sr.)
Sarah Miller, Ave Maria, F (Sr.)
Taniya Patrick, Webber International, F (So.)
Marlena Schmidt, Southeastern, C (Sr.)
M’caela Sellers, Southeastern, G (Jr.)
Taylah Simmons, Southeastern, F (Jr.)
Second Team
Keiana Brooks, St. Thomas, G (Sr.)
Leandra Franklin, Webber International, G (Jr.)
Eliza West, Southeastern, G (Sr.)
Solrun Gisladottir, Coastal Georgia, G (Jr.)
Lynsey Washington, Coastal Georgia, G (Sr.)
Emily Patton, Keiser, G (Jr.)
Jordan McDuffie, Johnson & Wales, F (So.)
Airneisha Gamble, Florida Memorial, G (Jr.)
Macarena Corral, Ave Maria, G (Sr.)
Shykim Gillion, Johnson & Wales, G (Fr.)
Player of the Year: Taylah Simmons, Southeastern
Freshman of the Year: Kaliyah Little, Coastal Georgia
Coach of the Year: Tim Hays, Southeastern
Champion of Character: Samantha Gilbert, Thomas
Repeat first-team selections from 2018-19 include Sarah Miller from Ave Maria and Tianna Ayulo from Johnson & Wales. In fact, both Miller and Ayulo are first-team picks for the third consecutive season.
The following 20 players have been recognized as All-Academic honorees for the 2019-20 season:
Danielle Bailey, Florida Memorial
Shawnice King, Florida Memorial
Marlena Schmidt, Southeastern
Raegan Linster, Southeastern
Danielle Domino, Ave Maria
Renee Roberts, Ave Maria
Taylor Lopez, Ave Maria
Georgia Slay, Ave Maria
Danielle Weinmann, Ave Maria
Sarah Miller, Ave Maria
Alisha Clayton, Thomas
Jewel Montisano, Thomas
Alexis Forbes, Coastal Georgia
Lynsey Washington, Coastal Georgia
Keiana Brooks, St. Thomas
Gianni Domond, St. Thomas
Antigonie Sanabria, Keiser
Kelly Meade, Keiser
Lexie Jackson, Johnson & Wales
Ayshia Scott, Johnson & Wales