Feb. 27, 2007
Charleston, S.C. - Regular season co-champion and top-seeded Western Carolina today landed a league-best three players on the All-Southern Conference team as selected by the conference's head coaches. Juniors Monique Dawson and Chevon Keith, as well as sophomore Lauren Powell each were named to the 10-member honorary squad.
Rookie guard Heather Swayne was selected to the five-player All-Freshman team, with WCU third-year head coach Kellie Harper recognized by her peers as the 2007 SoCon Coach of the Year.
Last year's Freshman of the Year, Powell, led WCU in scoring this season with a 12.2 point per game average. With 40 career double-digit scoring outings, Powell has amassed 682 points in her career, 354 this season. The Asheville, N.C., native enters this week's SoCon Championship ranked fourth on WCU's all-time 3-pointers made chart with 110 career treys. This season, Powell was a three-time SoCon TIAA-CREF Student-Athlete of the Week selection during the regular season.
Dawson scored in double-figures in 22 of the 29 regular season games, finishing the year strong by scoring in double-figures in a career-best, seven-straight games. During that same span, she averaged 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game. The Charlotte, N.C., native twice scored a career-best 24 points this season, doing so in wins at Wake Forest and at Chattanooga.
In addition to ranking 14th in the league in scoring (10.2 ppg) this season, Keith was third in the conference in rebounding at 7.9 boards per game. The Ivanhoe, N.C., native led the SoCon in offensive rebounds (3.48 per game) and was third in defensive boards (4.45 per game).
Swayne is Western's seventh selection to the All-Freshman team, and sixth in the past seven years. The Raleigh, N.C., native was an integral part of the Lady Catamounts late season success, improving her on-court time to an average of 15.3 minutes per game.
Harper earned her first-ever Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Lady Catamounts to a school-record tying 21 victories and a program-best 15 wins in league play. The Sparta, Tenn., native also orchestrated Western's first-ever conference regular-season championship and number one seed.
Western opens play on Wednesday afternoon at approximately 12:30 pm in the second game of the women's bracket second session against the ninth-seeded Furman Lady Paladins who upset No. 8 College of Charleston, 64-59, in the first round finale.
2007 Southern Conference Women's Basketball All-Conference Team Whitney Tossie, Appalachian State Alex Anderson, Chattanooga Laura Hall, Chattanooga Katie Hamilton, Davidson Tiffany Brown, Georgia Southern Kristen Boone, UNC Greensboro Jasmine Byrd, UNC Greensboro Monique Dawson, Western Carolina Chevon Keith, Western Carolina Lauren Powell, Western Carolina2007 All-Freshman Team GiGi Thomas, Appalachian State Jenaya Wade-Fray, Chattanooga Tiffany Davis, Elon Carolyn Whitney, Georgia Southern Heather Swayne, Western Carolina
Player of the Year: Alex Anderson, Chattanooga Freshman of the Year: Carolyn Whitney, Georgia Southern Coach of the Year: Kellie Harper, Western Carolina
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