NORFOLK, Virginia — Bethune-Cookman junior Angel Golden was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year, the conference office announced today. Maryland Eastern Shore’s Bairesha Gill-Miles was named Rookie of the Year, while Bethune-Cookman junior Ashanti Hunt earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Bethune-Cookman head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis was named Coach of the Year.
All awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Golden ranked fourth in the MEAC in scoring this season, averaging 15.5 points per game, and her 40.1 percent clip from behind the arc (77-for-192) ranked second in the conference. She averaged 2.8 made threes per contest (37th in the nation), and Golden eclipsed the 20-point mark 10 times – including seven of her last 12 games. A four-time MEAC Player of the Week this season, Golden was the offensive leader on a Bethune-Cookman squad that went 15-1 in league play this season to earn a share of the MEAC regular-season title. In MEAC play, Golden averaged 17.1 points per game.
Gill-Miles ranked eighth in the MEAC with 7.9 rebounds per contest, while also averaging 10.6 points per game. She was named MEAC Rookie of the Week six times, and Gill-Miles recorded six double-doubles this season – including a stretch of four in a row from Jan. 22 through Feb. 5. She scored a season-high 20 points against North Carolina Central, and the 15 rebounds she grabbed against Coppin State and Florida A&M were also a season best.
Hunt ranked 10th in the MEAC with 7.3 rebounds per game, and she was fifth in the league in defensive rebounding, grabbing just over five boards per contest on that end of the floor. She blocked a season-high four shots twice: against Jacksonville and against Coppin State. Hunt also pulled down double-digit rebounds four times this season, including a season- and career-high 17 in a non-conference win over Texas State. Often tasked with defending other teams’ best scorers, Hunt held all but two of them below their season averages this season.
Blair-Lewis led Bethune-Cookman to a 15-1 mark in league play, sharing the regular-season title with North Carolina A&T State – marking the third straight season in which the Wildcats either held or shared the MEAC’s top spot at the end of the regular season. Bethune-Cookman won 23 games in the regular season – the first time the program recorded a 20-win regular season since the 1984-85 season.
Joining Golden and Hunt on the 2018 All-MEAC First Team are Coppin State’s Genesis Lucas, Delaware State’s NaJai Pollard and Norfolk State’s Kayla Roberts.
The 2017-18 regular-season champion, All-MEAC First Team members and honorees – such as Player, Rookie, Defensive Player and Coach of the Year – will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to their first games of the 2018 MEAC Basketball Tournament (March 5-10 in Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.).
All awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Golden ranked fourth in the MEAC in scoring this season, averaging 15.5 points per game, and her 40.1 percent clip from behind the arc (77-for-192) ranked second in the conference. She averaged 2.8 made threes per contest (37th in the nation), and Golden eclipsed the 20-point mark 10 times – including seven of her last 12 games. A four-time MEAC Player of the Week this season, Golden was the offensive leader on a Bethune-Cookman squad that went 15-1 in league play this season to earn a share of the MEAC regular-season title. In MEAC play, Golden averaged 17.1 points per game.
Gill-Miles ranked eighth in the MEAC with 7.9 rebounds per contest, while also averaging 10.6 points per game. She was named MEAC Rookie of the Week six times, and Gill-Miles recorded six double-doubles this season – including a stretch of four in a row from Jan. 22 through Feb. 5. She scored a season-high 20 points against North Carolina Central, and the 15 rebounds she grabbed against Coppin State and Florida A&M were also a season best.
Hunt ranked 10th in the MEAC with 7.3 rebounds per game, and she was fifth in the league in defensive rebounding, grabbing just over five boards per contest on that end of the floor. She blocked a season-high four shots twice: against Jacksonville and against Coppin State. Hunt also pulled down double-digit rebounds four times this season, including a season- and career-high 17 in a non-conference win over Texas State. Often tasked with defending other teams’ best scorers, Hunt held all but two of them below their season averages this season.
Blair-Lewis led Bethune-Cookman to a 15-1 mark in league play, sharing the regular-season title with North Carolina A&T State – marking the third straight season in which the Wildcats either held or shared the MEAC’s top spot at the end of the regular season. Bethune-Cookman won 23 games in the regular season – the first time the program recorded a 20-win regular season since the 1984-85 season.
Joining Golden and Hunt on the 2018 All-MEAC First Team are Coppin State’s Genesis Lucas, Delaware State’s NaJai Pollard and Norfolk State’s Kayla Roberts.
The 2017-18 regular-season champion, All-MEAC First Team members and honorees – such as Player, Rookie, Defensive Player and Coach of the Year – will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to their first games of the 2018 MEAC Basketball Tournament (March 5-10 in Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.).
2017-18 Women’s Basketball All-MEAC Honors
As voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors
Player of the Year: Angel Golden, Bethune-Cookman
Rookie of the Year: Bairesha Gill-Miles, Maryland Eastern Shore
Defensive Player of the Year: Ashanti Hunt, Bethune-Cookman
Coach of the Year: Vanessa Blair-Lewis, Bethune-Cookman
FIRST TEAM
| Name | Ht. | Class | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| NaJai Pollard | 5-11 | Jr. | F | Delaware State | Richmond, Va. |
| Kayla Roberts | 6-1 | Sr. | G/F | Norfolk State | Miami, Fla. |
| Angel Golden | 5-8 | Jr. | G | Bethune-Cookman | Tampa, Fla. |
| Genesis Lucas | 5-7 | r-Sr. | G | Coppin State | Brandywine, Md. |
| Ashanti Hunt | 5-11 | Jr. | G | Bethune-Cookman | Washington, D.C. |
SECOND TEAM
| Name | Ht. | Class | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Monnazjea Finney-Smith | 6-1 | Sr. | G/F | Hampton | Portsmouth, Va. |
| Chance Graham | 5-11 | So. | F | Coppin State | Upper Marlboro, Md. |
| Kaylee Allen | 5-11 | Jr. | G | Savannah State | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| C'Coriea Foy | 6-0 | So. | G | N.C. A&T State | Fayetteville, N.C. |
| Bryeasha Blair | 5-5 | Gr. | G | S.C. State | Chicago, Ill. |
THIRD TEAM
| Name | Ht. | Class | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Florence Ouattara | 6-0 | Sr. | G/F | Florida A&M | Tiassale, Ivory Coast |
| Lexus Spears | 6-2 | Sr. | F | Morgan State | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Alexus Lessears | 6-3 | So. | C | N.C. A&T State | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Rodneysha Martin | 5-5 | Jr. | G | N.C. Central | Olive Branch, Miss. |
| Jephany Brown | 6-0 | Sr. | F/G | Hampton | Washington, D.C. |
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
| Name | Ht. | Class | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Kieche White | 5-4 | Fr. | G | N.C. Central | Washington, D.C. |
| Bairesha Gill-Miles | 6-0 | Fr. | F | Maryland E. Shore | Lexington, Ky. |
| Brianna Battle | 5-3 | Fr. | G | Bethune-Cookman | Pompano Beach, Fla. |
| Armani Franklin | 5-5 | Fr. | G | Norfolk State | Hampton, Va. |
| Ryan Jones | 5-5 | Fr. | G | Delaware State | Columbia, Md. |
MEAC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
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