TOWSON – West Liberty University senior guard Tori Hansen and University of Connecticut senior forward Maya Moore lead the 2010-11 Capital One Academic All-America Women’s Basketball teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Hansen has been honored as the Academic All-America of the Year in the College Division, which encompasses all women’s basketball players from more than 1,000 NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II and junior college programs. Moore is a repeat selection as Academic All-America of the Year for the University Division (NCAA Division I).
“I believe Tori could be the poster child for the NCAA Division II ‘Life in the Balance’ initiative,” said West Liberty head women’s basketball coach Lynn Ullom. “She has been the best of the best on the court throughout her career and she’s also been the best of the best in the classroom. Not only does Tori strike a balance between athletics and academics, she strikes that balance at an extremely high level.”
A Mathematics Education major, Hansen has never received a grade lower than “A” during her four years at West Liberty. The 2010 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year has led the Hilltoppers to three consecutive Top 25 finishes in the WBCA’s national Academic Top 25 program and has been named to the WVIAC Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll each of the past three years.
The 5-8 guard from McKean, Pa. has matched that academic success by virtually rewriting the West Liberty record book. Hansen has scored more points (2,170) and grabbed more rebounds (868) than any player in Lady Hilltopper history while also ranking among the top five all-time in steals and assists. She has taken and made more free throws than any West Liberty woman and holds the school’s single-season records for points, field goals, field goal attempts and free throw attempts.
Hansen has been in the Hilltoppers’ starting lineup for all 120 games since coming to West Liberty and has reached double-figures in scoring in 101 of them. A two-time first-team All-WVIAC selection, she was the 2009 WVIAC Player of the Year and 2009 WVIAC Tournament MVP. She was a second-team NCAA Division II All-American and first-team All-Region selection as a junior and set the all-time WVIAC Tournament scoring record with 111 points in four games.
As her final varsity campaign winds down, Hansen has led the Hilltoppers to their sixth consecutive 20-win season. She leads the WVIAC in scoring and ranks fifth nationally at 20.4 ppg. and is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.4 rebounds per game. She is this year’s only three-time WVIAC Player of the Week selection.
Hansen is the second Academic All-American produced by the West Liberty women’s basketball program. Hilltopper Hall of Famer Ashlea Bland was a first-team choice on the 2003-04 Academic All-America team.
“Our program has always taken as much pride in the academic achievements of our players as their athletic accomplishments,” Ullom said. “We expect our young women to compete every bit as hard in the classroom as they do on the court and it’s very gratifying to see all that hard work rewarded.”
Hansen is one of two players on the Capital One Academic All-America College Division first team with a 4.00 GPA. Senior Lindsey Kentner of Charleston, a Pre-Med (Biology) major, also has a 4.00 G.P.A. Seniors Whitney Ballinger of Campbellsville (Ky.), Samantha Murphy of Grand Canyon (Ariz.) and Kathryn Stockbower of Swarthmore (Pa.) complete the first team. Stockbower was a third-team Academic All-American in 2009-10.
An Individualized major with a 3.70 GPA, Moore is the first University Division women’s basketball player to repeat as Academic All-America of the Year. Lindsey Dietz, ’06 of Minnesota-Duluth was named College Division Academic All-America of the Year in 2005 and 2006. This is Moore’s third Academic All-America honor. A repeat selection as a member of the first team, she was a second-team choice as a sophomore.
Moore is one of three repeat selections on the Capital One Academic All-America Women’s Basketball University Division first team. Senior forward Erin Anthony of the U.S. Military Academy and senior guard Liz Repella of West Virginia were named to the first team for the second straight season. Junior Amanda Johnson of Oregon, a second-team pick last year, and senior Kathleen Barry of Columbia round out the first team unit.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better on a 4.00 scale, have reached sophomore athletic and academic status at her current institution and be nominated by their school’s sports information director.
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