Big South Announces 2021-22 Women's Basketball Annual Award Winners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Longwood senior forward
Akila Smith and USC Upstate head coach
Becky Burke have been voted the 2021-22 Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, by the league’s head coaches, it was announced Monday afternoon by the conference office. The panel voted Spartan guard
Rachael Rose Freshman of the Year and Smith as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Campbell redshirt-senior forward
Taya Bolden was voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league’s Sports Information Directors.
Smith (Orlando, Fla.) becomes the first player since the 2018-19 season and second overall to claim Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season. A two-time Big South Player of the Week winner, Smith closed the regular season ranking third in the conference at 16.8 points per game and leading the league in blocks with 3.1 per contest. She was the only player in the conference this season to post a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks at Sam Houston last November. The forward shined in conference play, as she averaged 17.6 points and led the Lancers to a share of their first-ever Big South regular-season title.
In the Player of the Year voting, Smith received five first-place votes and 153 total points in voting, ahead of USC Upstate’s
Chellia Watson (139 points, one first-place vote) and teammate
Kyla McMakin (121 points, one first-place vote).
In Defensive Player of the Year voting, Smith received seven first-place votes and 28 total points, ahead of Gardner-Webb’s
Alasia Smith (21 points, four first-place votes).
Burke earns her first Coach of the Year honor in just her second season leading the Spartans and becomes the first USC Upstate coach to claim the award. After being projected to finish 10th in the annual preseason poll, Burke led the Spartans to a third-place finish in the league standings -- the program’s highest position since joining the conference prior to the start of the 2018-19 season. USC Upstate closed the regular season with a 14-4 conference mark and set the program’s longest winning streak since the 1997-98 season when the Spartans strung together seven-straight victories from Jan. 25-Feb. 9. Upstate led the conference in field-goal percentage (46.7 percent) and 3-point field-goal percentage (34.9). Burke received six first-place votes and 25 total points in the voting, ahead of Longwood’s
Rebecca Tillett (four first-place votes, 24 points).
Rose (Scranton, Pa.) is the first Spartan to receive the Big South’s Freshman of the Year award. An eight-time Big South Freshman of the Week honoree in 2021-22, Rose was the top-scoring freshman with 12.7 points per game, which slotted her 13th overall in the conference. Rose ranked third in the conference in field-goal percentage at 53.6 percent and fifth in assists at 3.5. She posted the most 20-point performances by a freshman this season with four and was the only freshman to record three or more double-doubles. Rose received all 11 first-place votes and 55 points in the voting, ahead of Longwood’s
Kennedy Calhoun (40 points).
Bolden is a 3.5 student studying Criminal Justice. Earlier this season, Bolden was the lone Big South representative on the CoSIDA Academic All-District team. She is the only player in the conference to average a double-double with 12.7 points and 10.2 rebounds, as she led the Camels to a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the Hercules Tires Big South Women’s Basketball Championship. During the year, the forward became just the eighth player in conference history to reach the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound plateau, and also became the program’s all-time leading rebounder.
The entire 2021-22 All-Conference team is as follows:
2021-22 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE
First Team (in order of points received)
Akila Smith, Longwood
Chellia Watson, USC Upstate
Kyla McMakin, Longwood
Taya Bolden, Campbell
Alasia Smith, Gardner-Webb
Second Team
Luana Serranho, Campbell
Chanin Scott, North Carolina A&T
Nadiria Evans, UNC Asheville
Jhessyka Williams, Gardner-Webb
Jenson Edwards, High Point
Honorable Mention
Nylah Young, Hampton
Jade Compton, Presbyterian College
Rachael Rose, USC Upstate
Jazmin Harris, North Carolina A&T
Tra’Dayja Smith, Longwood
All-Freshman Team
Rachael Rose, USC Upstate
Kennedy Calhoun, Longwood
Nakyah Terrell, High Point
Terah Harness, USC Upstate
Jordyn Dorsey, North Carolina A&T
Women’s Basketball All-Academic Team
Taya Bolden, R-Sr., Campbell
Alyssia Faye, Gr., Charleston Southern
Grace Knutsen, Jr., Gardner-Webb
Nylah Young, Jr., Hampton
Callie Scheier, Jr., High Point
Brooke Anya, Soph., Longwood
Sean Kelly Darks, Soph., North Carolina A&T
Tionna Carter, Jr., Presbyterian
Bridget Birkhead, Gr., Radford
Amanda Blake, Soph., UNC Asheville
Molly Coleman, Sr., USC Upstate
Sydney Hunter, Jr., Winthrop
Player of the Year
Akila Smith, Longwood
Defensive Player of the Year
Akila Smith, Longwood
Coach of the Year
Becky Burke, USC Upstate
Freshman of the Year
Rachael Rose, USC Upstate
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Taya Bolden, R-Sr., Campbell