University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Women's Basketball Annual Awards Banquet
3/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 25, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis and her staff handed out several awards to players at the annual awards banquet on Thursday night.
Senior Ashlee Kelly came away with the top honor, the Lady Eagle Award, for her leadership, academics and community service. Kelly's senior season was a challenging one as she was able to play through adversity.
Senior Tanesha Washington and junior Rachel Vigers were awarded the team's Most Outstanding Award. Both received Conference USA third team honors. Washington averaged 14.4 points and a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per game while Vigers was the team's leading scorer with 16.4 points. Washington also was honored as a member of the 1,000 point club.
Freshman Jamierra Faulkner was named the team's Playmaker of the Year. Faulkner led the team and league in assists while ranking 10th nationally. She was second in scoring among all freshmen in C-USA while earning All-Freshman team honors.
Freshman Niesha Pierce collected the Most Improved Player Award and finished the season averaging 5.6 points per game. Pierce improved her point and rebound production over the final 10 games of the season as she averaged 7.3 points during that stretch.
The Lady Eagles played tribute to the senior class, Washington, Kelly, Geneshia Dunbar and Brittany Johnson, presenting the quartet with framed jerseys and their own doll in uniform.
