March 01, 2014
Washington, D.C.-The Great South Athletic Conference held it's winter banquet in Washington, D.C. tonight to honor the All-Conference award winners of the 2013-14 women's basketball season.
Highlighting the awards ceremony was Salem's Satavia Taylor accepting Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. Trinity Washington's Blessing Hayes claimed Freshman of the Year status while head coach Doug Carter of Maine-Presque Isle collected the Coach of the Year designation from his peers.
Satavia Taylor (pictured at right), a senior guard / forward from Chicago, Ill., won her second straight GSAC Player of the Year award after guiding the Spirits to a 19-4 record and the top seed in the conference tournament. There's little Taylor doesn't do on the court, as evidenced by her league leading 23.3 points per game to go along with a conference-tops in blocked shots with 48. Adding to Taylor's legend were her league-best field goals made (200), three-pointers made (65), and her top-5 conference rank in major categories like rebounds (8.8 per game) and steals (3.2 per game).
Blessing Hayes, a freshman forward from Washington, D.C., enjoyed a stellar first-year campaign that saw her ranked among the league-leaders in several major categories. Hayes averaged a double-double a game, displaying her workmanlike efforts around the glass with an average of 11.5 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. Her points average and field goal percentage (40.7) both ranked 12th in the conference and her rebounding prowess was only topped by one player in the league. The Tigers certainly look forward to a future with Hayes in the everyday fold.
Maine-Presque Isle Head Coach Doug Carter guided the Owls to a 17-6 overall record and the fourth seed in the GSAC Tournament in his first year at the helm of the Owls' program. Carter joined the Owls in September from University of the Cumberlands (UC). During the past two seasons under Carter's guidance, UC was ranked nationally as high as #5 in NAIA Division I Basketball, winning the regular season and Mid-South Conference (MSC) championships in 2012. During that span, UC beat fourteen teams ranked in the NAIA top 25 and this past season, UC lost in the NAIA National Championship Tournament to the eventual National Champions, Westmont College, 63-58.
All-Conference Team
Morgan Cooper of Agnes Scott
Marissa Burke of Finlandia
Hailey Gervais of Finlandia
Olivia McNally of Maine-Presque Isle
Ari DeJesus of Pine Manor
Alexis Lee of Pine Manor
Jasmine Shabazz of Salem
Satavia Taylor of Salem
Ashley Brown of Trinity Washington
Jasmine Davis of Wesleyan
All-Freshman Team
Care Bacon of Agnes Scott
Kristin Thompson of Maine-Presque Isle
Jayva Johnson of Pine Manor
Maria Vaughan of Pine Manor
Blessing Hayes of Trinity Washington