George Washington University Athletics
Kimberly Beck Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year
3/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 5, 2008
2008 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Release in PDF Format
PHILADELPHIA, PA - George Washington senior point guard Kimberly Beck (Fairburn, GA/Woodward Academy) was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year 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 Wednesday.
Beck earned All-Conference First Team honors for the third consecutive season, joining Darlene Saar and Cathy Joens as the only players in program history to receive first-team nods three times during their career. Beck also is the ninth player in league history to be named first team All-Conference at least three times in her career.
Beck and senior forward Whitney Allen (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) were both named to the All-Defensive Team. It is Beck's third straight All-Defensive Team award, while Allen collected the honor for the second straight season.
Senior Sarah-Jo Lawrence (Rhoadesville, VA/Orange County) was selected the league's Student-Athlete of the Year, as well as being voted to the All-Conference Third Team and All-Academic Team. A third team CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American this season, Lawrence joined Saar and Joens as GW players to be chosen A-10 Student-Athlete of the Year.
Junior center Jessica Adair (Washington, DC/Anacostia) received All-Conference First Team honors for the second straight season.
A two-time Nancy Lieberman Award final nominee, Beck became the 11th player in NCAA Division I history to pace her conference in assists all four seasons during her career after pacing the A-10 with 6.32 assists per game this season. An All-American from Fairburn, GA, Beck is second on the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game, third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.60) and fourth in the A-10 in steals (2.14 spg).
Adair leads GW and ranks sixth in the league in scoring at 15.6 points per game. The Washington, DC, product also ranks fourth in the A-10 and 51st nationally in field-goal percentage (.526) and is seventh in the conference in blocked shots (1.39 bpg). Adair enters this weekend's A-10 Championship 17 points shy of becoming GW's 25th 1,000-point scorer and third player to reach the milestone this season.
Lawrence, an All-Conference Second Team pick in 2007, is in the Top 15 in the A-10 in four categories. She is 15th in the conference in scoring (13.2 ppg), 11th in steals (1.59 spg), sixth in assists (3.97 apg) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.60). Off the court, Lawrence carries a 3.85 grade-point average as a communication and sociology major and has been named to the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll every semester of her career.
Beck and Allen have led a Colonials' defense that has limited A-10 opponents to a league-low 52.8 points per game this season. Allen is third in the conference in steals (2.17 spg) and 15th in rebounding (6.2 rpg).
No. 13/12 George Washington (24-5) is the No. 2 seed for the 2008 A-10 Championship, which will begin this Friday, March 7, at Saint Joseph's Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia, PA. The Colonials, who earned a share of their seventh consecutive regular-season league title this year, receive a first-round bye and will play either St. Bonaventure or Rhode Island in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 4:00 pm.
2008 ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HONORS
ATLANTIC 10 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM
Jessica Adair, George Washington
Kimberly Beck, George Washington
Amber Harris, Xavier
Carlene Hightower, La Salle
Ashley Morris, Temple
SECOND-TEAM
Lady Comfort, Temple
Kate Mills, Massachusetts
Dana Mitchell, St. Bonaventure
Nikki Oakland, Dayton
Ta'Shia Phillips, Xavier
THIRD-TEAM
Sarah Acker, Saint Joseph's
Sabrina Gregory, Charlotte
Sarah-Jo Lawrence, George Washington
Theresa Lisch, Saint Louis
Kristi Little, Duquesne
DEFENSIVE TEAM
Whitney Allen, George Washington
Kimberly Beck, George Washington
LaKeisha Eaddy, Temple
Sabrina Gregory, Charlotte
Kristi Little, Duquesne
Johanna McKnight, Richmond
ACADEMIC TEAM
Christina Campion, Richmond
Karah Cloxton, Dayton
Sabrina Gregory, Charlotte
Sarah-Jo Lawrence, George Washington
Katelyn Murray, St. Bonaventure
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kimberly Beck, George Washington
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Ta'Shia Phillips, Xavier
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kristi Little, Duquesne
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Ashley Morris, Temple
SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tudi Reed, Xavier
STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Sarah-Jo Lawrence, George Washington
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jim Jabir, Dayton
