Women's Basketball Preseason All-MAC Team Announced
Cleveland, Ohio -- Ten of the league's top women's basketball players have been selected to the preseason All-MAC teams for the East and West Divisions as announced by the league office. Voting for the teams was conducted among 24 members of the league's media contingent as well as the league's head women's basketball coaches.
The East Division Preseason All-MAC team is lead by the 2008-09 MAC Player of the Year Lauren Prochaska. Prochaska finished the season leading the Falcons in both scoring and rebounding averaging 17.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and has scored 1,090 points in her first two seasons. Joining her is teammate Tracy Pontius. Pontius was a member of the All-MAC first team and was named to the Honorable Mention to the Associated Press All-America Team. She averaged 14.8 points and lead the team with 4.1 assists per game.
Also joining the team is the league leader in points from last season, Kara Murphy of Akron. Murphy lead the MAC averaging 19.3 points per game - the 19th-highest mark in the nation. She also became the youngest player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for a career; accomplishing the feat in just 61 games.
Kourtney Brown returns for the Bulls after a season where she became the school's all-time leading scorer with 532 points in one season. Brown helped lead the Bulls to their first ever appearance in the MAC Tournament Semifinals and was named to the MAC All-Tournament team. Brown was just one of two players in the MAC last season to be in the top five in the conference in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots.
Rounding out the East is Jennifer Bushby of Ohio. Bushby is Ohio's leading returning scorer and a Third Team All-MAC recipient a season ago. She averaged a career-best 11.9 points and led the conference with 5.3 assists per game during the 2008-09 season. She also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals last year.
Leading the West Division with two players each are 2008-09 MAC Champion Ball State and West Division runner-up Toledo. The Cardinals place Danielle Gratton and Emily Maggert on this year's squad. Gratton, one of this year's co-captain's, started all 35 games for the Cardinals and lead the team averaging 7.0 rpg. Maggert finished the season as the team's scoring leader averaging 13.4 ppg while averaging 31.1 minutes of play.
Senior Tanika Mays, a second-team All-MAC recipient and a member of the All-Tournament Team, lead the league with 2.5 spg. She also lead UT in points with 12.5 ppg and rebounds with 6.3 rpg. Teammate Naama Shafir returns for her sophomore campaign after starting all 31 games at point guard in 2008-09 for the Rockets. She averaged 11.7 points, a squad-best 4.5 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 29.0 minutes.
Central Michigan senior Britni Houghton rounds out the West Division team. Houghton was just the second player in CMU history to score 500 points in a season (533), becoming the 17th player in program history to cross the 1,000-point threshold and just the fifth to do it prior to her senior season. The senior sits 10th on CMU's all-time scoring list.
The 2009-2010 Women's Basketball season will begin on Tuesday, November 10. The Mid-American Conference season will begin on Wednesday, January 6, 2010.
EAST DIVISION
1. Kara Murphy- Akron
2. Lauren Prochaska- Bowling Green
3. Tracy Pontius-Bowling Green
4. Kourtney Brown-Buffalo
5. Jennifer Bushby-Ohio
WEST DIVISION
1. Danielle Gratton-Ball State
2. Emily Maggert-Ball State
3. Britni Houghton-Central Michigan
4. Tanika Mays-Toledo
5. Naama Shafir-Toledo
