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 GW head coach Joe McKeown was named the A-10 Coach of the Year for a record fifth time on Tuesday. |
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McKeown Named A-10 Coach of the Year; Four Players Land on All-Conference Teams
Feb. 27, 2007
PHILADELPHIA, PA - George Washington head women's basketball coach Joe McKeown was named the Atlantic 10 Conference's Coach of the Year for a record fifth time and four Colonials were placed on All-Conference teams, in a year-end poll conducted by the Conference coaches and released by the league office on Tuesday.
Junior guard Kimberly Beck was selected the league's Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-Conference First Team along with sophomore Jessica Adair. Junior guard Sarah-Jo Lawrence was placed on the second team and senior guard/forward Kenan Cole garnered third team honors.
Beck and junior forward Whitney Allen were named to the A-10 Defensive Team, while Cole landed on the A-10 All-Academic Team for the second straight year on the day she was named a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American.
McKeown, who also was named league Coach of the Year in 1991, 1997, 2000 and 2002, has guided GW to its best regular season in program history (25-2) and its highest national ranking (No. 8) since the 1996-97 season. McKeown captured his 400th career GW victory against Massachusetts on Jan. 14 and led the program to its second undefeated A-10 regular season (14-0), just the fifth in the league's 25-year history.
Beck, who was the league's Co-Player of the Week on three occasions this season, leads GW in steals (2.26 spg) and paces the A-10 in assists (5.48 apg) for the third consecutive season, just the third player in the league's history to accomplish the feat.
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Jessica Adair averages 13.0 points on a league-leading 54.7 percent shooting from the floor. The District native also paces the league in offensive rebounds (3.48) and ranks fourth in blocked shots (1.60 bpg) and seventh in rebounding (7.5 rpg). She was named the A-10 Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 27 and Jan. 22.
Lawrence, a Preseason All-Conference First Team pick, leads GW and ranks 14th in the conference in scoring at 13.4 ppg. She also ranks in the top-15 in the league in steals (2.11 spg), assist-turnover ratio (1.32), assists (3.22 apg) and field-goal percentage (.469). She enters this weekend's A-10 Championship 130 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Beck and Allen have been integral parts of a Colonials' defense that ranks 19th in the nation in scoring defense (55.3 ppg) and 13th-nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.351). Allen is in the top-10 in the league in both steals (1.93 spg) and blocked shots (1.07 bpg).
Cole has had a career year, averaging 11.1 points on 41.4 percent shooting from the field. She has also connected on 34-of-84 three-point attempts, placing her sixth in the conference in three-point percentage at 40.5 percent.
George Washington is the No. 1 seed for the 2007 A-10 Championship, which will begin this Friday, March 2, at Xavier's Cintas Center. The Colonials receive a first-round bye and will play either Dayton or La Salle in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 12:00 pm.
2007 ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HONORS
ATLANTIC 10 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM
Jessica Adair, George Washington
Kimberly Beck, George Washington
Kamesha Hairston, Temple
Amber Harris, Xavier
Carlene Hightower, La Salle
SECOND-TEAM
Lady Comfort, Temple
Ayahna Cornish, Saint Joseph's
Suntana Granderson, Xavier
Sarah-Jo Lawrence, George Washington
Crista Ricketts, La Salle
THIRD-TEAM
Danielle Burgin, Charlotte
Kenan Cole, George Washington
Sabrina Gregory, Charlotte
Kate Mills, Massachusetts
Safi Mojidi, Rhode Island
DEFENSIVE TEAM
Whitney Allen, George Washington
Kimberly Beck, George Washington
Sabrina Gregory, Charlotte
Kamesha Hairston, Temple
Amber Harris, Xavier
Carlene Hightower, La Salle
ACADEMIC TEAM
Lisa Carrol, Fordham
Kenan Cole, George Washington
Sabrina Gregory, Charlotte
Audrey Latendresse, St. Bonaventure
Tyler McIlwraith, Saint Louis
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kamesha Hairston, Temple
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Amber Harris, Xavier
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kimberly Beck, George Washington
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Lady Comfort, Temple
SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Joei Clyburn, Xavier
STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Tyler McIlwraith, Saint Louis
COACH OF THE YEAR: Joe McKeown, George Washington
