South Atlantic Conference Announces Men's and Women's All-Conference Basketball Teams
March 1, 2006

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ROCK HILL, SC – Mars Hill College senior guard Walt Baxley, who led the South Atlantic Conference in scoring at 27.8 points per game, and Wingate University junior guard Tanetra Barrett, who helped lead the Bulldogs to the SAC championship, were the top recipients for the Men’s and Women’s All-Conference Basketball Awards, the league announced today.

Barrett was named the women’s Player of the Year, an award she shared last season. This season, Barrett a junior from Marshville, N.C. (Forest Hills HS) led the SAC in scoring at 19.7 points per game and had the top field-goal percentage at .551. She also ranked among the league leaders in free-throw percentage, rebounding, assists and steals.

Baxley, a senior from Winston-Salem, N.C. (North Forsyth HS) was named men’s Player of the Year after averaging a league-best 27.6 points per game, the second-best average in Division II. His scoring average is the highest in SAC history. He had three games of 40 points or more this season.

Joining Baxley on the men’s All-Conference First Team are Josh Kindred, who helped lead Lenoir-Rhyne to the SAC regular-season title; Brian Graves and Helgi Magnusson from Catawba; Johann Collins from Presbyterian and Sean Barnette from Wingate.

The men’s All-Conference Second Team consists Josh Rudder from Lenoir-Rhyne; Zach Chandler from Newberry; Tray Ballenger from Presbyterian; Douglas Tshomba from Tusculum; and Justin Baker and Bryan Grier from Wingate. Grier led Division II in blocked shots per game at 5.0 per game.

Lenoir-Rhyne’s Donte Watson, a freshman from Fayetteville, N.C. (Fayetteville 71st HS) who played a big part in the Bears’ championship, was named Freshman of the Year. He averaged 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He was joined on the All-Freshman Team by teammate Tyler Boardman; Eliott McDowell of Mars Hill; Clemente Martin of Newberry; and Kenny Villines of Wingate.

Lenoir-Rhyne’s John Lentz, who guided the Bears to the regular-season championship, was named men’s Coach of the Year. He wins this award for the fourth time in his career.

Joining Barrett on the women’s All-Conference First Team are: Hannah Davis of Catawba; Kristi Ferris and Lindsey Jones from Mars Hill; Tonique Frasier from Newberry and Rebecca Wessinger from Presbyterian, who also was named the SAC’s Scholar Athlete for women’s basketball.

Named to the women’s All-Conference Second Team are: Shannon Jones from Lenoir-Rhyne; Brooke Underwood, Chassity Martin and Amber Redding, all from Tusculum; and Emily Paffrath and Anna Atkinson from Wingate. Atkinson, from Marion, N.C. (McDowell HS) was also named the women’s basketball Freshman of the Year, She led the league in steals per game (2.19) and finished second in assists per game (5.07).

Joining Atkinson on the women’s All-Freshman team are: Brittany Higgins from Catawba; Morgan Johnson from Presbyterian; and Stephany Neptune and Ashli Oliver from Tusculum.

Tusculum’s Missy Tiber, who led the Pioneers to their best record (16-9) since joining Division II in her first year, and a third seed in the conference tournament, was named women’s Coach of the Year.

The SAC Scholar Athlete Awards go to Wessinger of Presbyterian College and Grant Herren of Presbyterian College.

Wessinger, a senior forward from Laurens, S.C. (Laurens HS) carries a 3.94 GPA as a biology major.

On the court, Wessinger is a two-time First Team All-Conference selection, and ranked fourth in the league in scoring this season. She currently has 1,368 career points which ranks 5th in program history.

Wessinger has been named to the Presbyterian College President’s List (4.0 GPA) four semesters, and to the Dean’s List three semesters, as well as the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. She is a member of theTri-Beta Honor Society, the American Institute of Biological Science, the SAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was a Presbyterian College Junior Marshall. She was named to the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine® Academic All-District First Team the past two years, and was named Third Team Academic All-American this year.

On campus and in the community, Wessinger serves as a tutor in biology and in a local elementary school. She has volunteered her time to several service ventures, including Hurricane Katrina relief, Make-A-Wish, Race for a Cure, collecting Christmas presents for local children and preparing gift packages for service people serving in Iraq.

Herren, a junior forward from Oviedo, Florida (Oviedo HS), has a 3.36 GPA as a business administration major with a concentration in accounting. He is a two-year letterwinner and has started 76 of 83 games during his career. He is third on the team in scoring this season and second in rebounding. He was named to the 2005 Disney Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team.

Herren has been named to the Presbyterian Dean’s List two semesters and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He is a member of Presbyterian College Accounting Club.

In the community, Herren has volunteered with fund-raising projects for Hurricane Katrina relief and Make-A-Wish. He also is a mentor and role model at Clinton Boys Home, is a member of the Presbyterian Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and participates in local youth basketball clinics.

The SAC Scholar Athlete Award is presented to one athlete from each of the SAC's 14 sports programs and represents a combination of athletic skill, academic achievement, and participation in community service and leadership roles.

The 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournament begins Wednesday with quarterfinal games at campus sites. The semifinals and finals will be held at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. on Saturday and Sunday. Tournament winners receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament.

2006 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS AND AWARD RECIPIENTS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STATISTICAL CHAMPIONS
The SAC Statistical Champion Award recognizes those individuals and teams that have finished the regular season as SAC leaders in various overall statistical categories. Individual leaders must have participated in 75 percent of the team’s games.