Dakota Dukes, Hannah Early and Laura Murray were each picked as All-SoCon First or Second Team members.
Wildcat Trio Represent Davidson on the All-SoCon Teams
3/5/2014 1:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Davidson women's basketball trio of senior #Laura Murray#, junior #Hannah Early and sophomore Dakota Dukes# were honored by the Southern Conference coaches and media in earning all-league honors for their outstanding seasons this year, as announced today by the SoCon office.
Murray, the 2011 SoCon Freshman of the Year, capped off her senior campaign by earning All-SoCon First Team on both the coaches and media teams. It's the second time in her career she made both first team squads and the third straight year she was named to the coaches first team. Murray joins #Sophia Aleksandravicius# (2011-13) as the only Wildcats to earn first-team honors three times.
Dukes and Early were honored for the first time. The sophomore forward Dukes, who earned a spot on the all-league freshman team last year, was named to the coaches' first team, while garnering a place on the second team by the media. Early became the 10th Wildcat to earn All-SoCon Second Team honors as she joined Dukes on the media team.
Murray was also a first-teamer on the College Sports Madness all-conference team, while both Early and Dukes were named to the third team.
The big three led the Wildcats to a third-place finish during the regular season in the SoCon at 11-7, while starting all 29 games. They finished one, two and three on the team in scoring and combined to score double figures in the same game 16 of Davidson's 29 contests.
Murray paced the offense at a career-high 18.9 points a game, good for second-best in the league and currently third-best in a Wildcat single season. A three-time SoCon Player of the Week this season and the player of the month for December, Murray scored in double digits in 28 of the 29 games, including hitting the 20-point plateau 14 times to push her career total to 31. She tallied her first career double-double (24 points, 11 rebounds) in a home win vs. Furman, Dec. 9.
Murray's senior year saw her set the school's single-season record for free throws, hitting 134-of-180 during the regular season, to surpass Aleksandravicius' record set a year ago. She is also currently second on the single-season list in points (549) and field goal attempts (431). The shooting guard also moved up the Wildcat career list into second all-time in points with 1,812. In addition, Murray is second in field goals made and attempted (610-for-1,554), free throws made (363), and three-pointers made (210, four away from the breaking school record) and attempted (597).
Dukes followed up her solid freshman campaign with an outstanding sophomore year this season. The forward is second on the team in scoring at a career-best 14.3 points after going off for a career-high 31 points with 10 rebounds in Davidson's regular-season finale win at Wofford Sunday. Dukes also dropped in 30 points to go with a career-best 12 rebounds in a December win vs. the Terriers. She has scored in double digits 21 times overall this season, hitting the 20-point mark in three of those games, while recording a team and career-high nine double-doubles.
The second-year player is tops on the team in rebounding at 7.8 a contest, good for seventh in the SoCon, and is one of only four players in the league shooting over 50 percent (.502).
Early has had a breakout junior campaign, ranking third on the team at 14.1 points a game (7th in SoCon). The junior has been deadly behind the arc, pacing the SoCon by hitting 44.1 percent of her three-pointers, which also ranks 10th in the nation. Her 60 triples on the season are second-most in the league and fourth-most in a Wildcat single-season.
Early has reached the double-figure mark in points 19 times this year, including netting a career-high 25 in a road win at Samford, Jan. 4. The forward is second on the team with three double-doubles and has averaged just over five rebounds a contest.
Chattanooga's Taylor Hall swept the league's player of the year honors in both the coaches and media after leading the Mocs to an undefeated season in SoCon play. She was also the defensive player of the year, just the second time in league history a player has swept both awards after Sophia Aleksandravicius did it twice in 2012 and 2013.
Tiffany Rhodes of Elon was named the coaches SoCon Freshman of the Year, while Hannah Nichols of Samford earned it for the media. The coaches and media's SoCon Coach of the Year went Furman's Jackie Carson after she led the Paladins to a second place finish in the league. They were picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll. The Ann Lashley Inspiration Award was given to Samford's Shelby Campbell.
Davidson (14-15, 11-7 SoCon) earned the No. 3 seed for the upcoming SoCon Tournament, March. 7-10, in Asheville, N.C. The Wildcats will play sixth-seeded Samford (10-19, 8-10 SoCon) Saturday at approximately 6:45 p.m. in the quarterfinals at Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville.
2014 SoCon Women's Basketball Media Awards
All-Conference Teams
First Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Laura Murray, Davidson
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Holli Wilkins, Furman
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Second Team
Dakota Dukes, Davidson
Hannah Early, Davidson
Kelsey Harris Elon
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Ashlen Dewart, Chattanooga
Media All-Freshmen Team
Lauren Brown, Elon
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Whitney Bunn, Furman
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Chelsey Shumpert, Chattanooga
Media Player of the Year – Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Media Freshman of the Year – Hannah Nichols, Samford
Media Coach of the Year – Jackie Carson, Furman
2014 SoCon Women's Basketball Coaches Awards
All-Conference Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Dakota Dukes, Davidson
Laura Murray, Davidson
Kelsey Harris, Elon
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Holli Wilkins, Furman
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Alex Black, Chattanooga
Ashlen Dewart, Chattanooga
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
All-Freshmen Team
Lauren Brown, Elon
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Whitney Bunn, Furman
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Chelsey Shumpert, Chattanooga
Player of the Year – Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Defensive Player of the Year – Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year – Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Coach of the Year– Jackie Carson, Furman
Ann Lashley Inspiration Award – Shelby Campbell, Samford
Murray, the 2011 SoCon Freshman of the Year, capped off her senior campaign by earning All-SoCon First Team on both the coaches and media teams. It's the second time in her career she made both first team squads and the third straight year she was named to the coaches first team. Murray joins #Sophia Aleksandravicius# (2011-13) as the only Wildcats to earn first-team honors three times.
Dukes and Early were honored for the first time. The sophomore forward Dukes, who earned a spot on the all-league freshman team last year, was named to the coaches' first team, while garnering a place on the second team by the media. Early became the 10th Wildcat to earn All-SoCon Second Team honors as she joined Dukes on the media team.
Murray was also a first-teamer on the College Sports Madness all-conference team, while both Early and Dukes were named to the third team.
The big three led the Wildcats to a third-place finish during the regular season in the SoCon at 11-7, while starting all 29 games. They finished one, two and three on the team in scoring and combined to score double figures in the same game 16 of Davidson's 29 contests.
Murray paced the offense at a career-high 18.9 points a game, good for second-best in the league and currently third-best in a Wildcat single season. A three-time SoCon Player of the Week this season and the player of the month for December, Murray scored in double digits in 28 of the 29 games, including hitting the 20-point plateau 14 times to push her career total to 31. She tallied her first career double-double (24 points, 11 rebounds) in a home win vs. Furman, Dec. 9.
Murray's senior year saw her set the school's single-season record for free throws, hitting 134-of-180 during the regular season, to surpass Aleksandravicius' record set a year ago. She is also currently second on the single-season list in points (549) and field goal attempts (431). The shooting guard also moved up the Wildcat career list into second all-time in points with 1,812. In addition, Murray is second in field goals made and attempted (610-for-1,554), free throws made (363), and three-pointers made (210, four away from the breaking school record) and attempted (597).
Dukes followed up her solid freshman campaign with an outstanding sophomore year this season. The forward is second on the team in scoring at a career-best 14.3 points after going off for a career-high 31 points with 10 rebounds in Davidson's regular-season finale win at Wofford Sunday. Dukes also dropped in 30 points to go with a career-best 12 rebounds in a December win vs. the Terriers. She has scored in double digits 21 times overall this season, hitting the 20-point mark in three of those games, while recording a team and career-high nine double-doubles.
The second-year player is tops on the team in rebounding at 7.8 a contest, good for seventh in the SoCon, and is one of only four players in the league shooting over 50 percent (.502).
Early has had a breakout junior campaign, ranking third on the team at 14.1 points a game (7th in SoCon). The junior has been deadly behind the arc, pacing the SoCon by hitting 44.1 percent of her three-pointers, which also ranks 10th in the nation. Her 60 triples on the season are second-most in the league and fourth-most in a Wildcat single-season.
Early has reached the double-figure mark in points 19 times this year, including netting a career-high 25 in a road win at Samford, Jan. 4. The forward is second on the team with three double-doubles and has averaged just over five rebounds a contest.
Chattanooga's Taylor Hall swept the league's player of the year honors in both the coaches and media after leading the Mocs to an undefeated season in SoCon play. She was also the defensive player of the year, just the second time in league history a player has swept both awards after Sophia Aleksandravicius did it twice in 2012 and 2013.
Tiffany Rhodes of Elon was named the coaches SoCon Freshman of the Year, while Hannah Nichols of Samford earned it for the media. The coaches and media's SoCon Coach of the Year went Furman's Jackie Carson after she led the Paladins to a second place finish in the league. They were picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll. The Ann Lashley Inspiration Award was given to Samford's Shelby Campbell.
Davidson (14-15, 11-7 SoCon) earned the No. 3 seed for the upcoming SoCon Tournament, March. 7-10, in Asheville, N.C. The Wildcats will play sixth-seeded Samford (10-19, 8-10 SoCon) Saturday at approximately 6:45 p.m. in the quarterfinals at Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville.
2014 SoCon Women's Basketball Media Awards
All-Conference Teams
First Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Laura Murray, Davidson
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Holli Wilkins, Furman
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Second Team
Dakota Dukes, Davidson
Hannah Early, Davidson
Kelsey Harris Elon
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Ashlen Dewart, Chattanooga
Media All-Freshmen Team
Lauren Brown, Elon
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Whitney Bunn, Furman
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Chelsey Shumpert, Chattanooga
Media Player of the Year – Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Media Freshman of the Year – Hannah Nichols, Samford
Media Coach of the Year – Jackie Carson, Furman
2014 SoCon Women's Basketball Coaches Awards
All-Conference Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Dakota Dukes, Davidson
Laura Murray, Davidson
Kelsey Harris, Elon
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Holli Wilkins, Furman
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Alex Black, Chattanooga
Ashlen Dewart, Chattanooga
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
All-Freshmen Team
Lauren Brown, Elon
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Whitney Bunn, Furman
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Chelsey Shumpert, Chattanooga
Player of the Year – Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Defensive Player of the Year – Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year – Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Coach of the Year– Jackie Carson, Furman
Ann Lashley Inspiration Award – Shelby Campbell, Samford
Players Mentioned
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