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ASC Women’s Basketball Postseason History
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Texas at Dallas will host fellow school American Southwest Conference school East Texas Baptist University and two other teams in the first two round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship at the UTD Activity Center in Richardson, Texas Friday and Saturday.
ETBU (22-6), the ASC Champion, is making its first appearance in the NCAA Championship. The Tigers will take on No. 13 Whitman College (22-4), who finished second in the Northwest Conference.
Host UTD (23-4), who won the ASC East Division in the regular season, will play No. 21 Trinity University (23-3), the champion from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Comets are making their fourth trip to the NCAA in program history and second in a row.
The winners of the two games will face each other Saturday night with a trip to the sectionals on the line.
It is the 11th time in league history the ASC has sent two or more schools to the NCAA tournament and first since 2015.
The sectional rounds will be March 9-10. The NCAA Division III Championship will be at the Mayo Civic Center Taylor Arena in Rochester, Minn. March 16-17.
ASC Men’s Basketball Postseason History
INDIANAPOLIS – Sul Ross State University and LeTourneau University will represent the American Southwest Conference in the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship.
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and The University of Texas at Tyler will represent the American Southwest Conference in the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament in San Antonio.
ASC champion, Sul Ross State (22-6) will take on St. Olaf College (19-7) in Platteville, Wis. 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 2. The Oles finished second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and made the semifinals of the MIAC tournament. The Lobos are making their second appearance in the NCAA. They advanced to the sectional semifinals after a pair of wins in 2004. The winner will advance to the second round against either host No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Platteville or Monmouth College.
LeTourneau (23-4), the ASC East Division regular season champions, will face Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Hanover College (22-6) in Atlanta on the campus of Emory University at 5:30 pm EST Friday. The YellowJackets are making their first appearance in the NCAA Championship. The winner between LeTourneau and Hanover will face the No. 7 Emory-Berry winner Saturday night.
It is the ninth time in league history the ASC has sent two or more schools to the NCAA tournament and first since 2013.
The winners of each pod will move on to the sectional rounds March 9-10. The NCAA Division III Championship will be at the Salem Civic Center in Salem Va. March 16-17.
ASC All-Conference History
RICHARDSON, Texas – The University of Texas at Dallas sophomore guard Victoria Pena and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor sophomore guard Kendall Rollins, were named the East and West Division Players of the Year, respectively. The American Southwest Conference announced the honor to highlight the 2018 Women’s Basketball All-Conference Teams on Monday, following a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Pena is the third Comet named East Division Player of the Year, joining Lyndsey Smith (2012) and Alyssa Crockett (2017). She averaged 15.6 points, ranking fourth in the ASC in scoring, and had 110 assists (4.1 per game – fourth in ASC), 183 rebounds, 14 blocks and 62 steals in 27 games. Pena helped UTD to ASC East Division regular season title.
Rollins is the first Cru student-athlete to earn West Division Player of the Year honors. She averaged 15.6 points per game, ranking fifth in the league, along with 6.9 rebounds (9th), 40 assists, eight blocks and 40 steals. Rollins guided UMHB to a West Division regular season title and a runner-up finish in the ASC Championship.
Pena and Rollins, who were both selected to the prestigious five-player ASC All-Conference Team, UMHB sophomore Hannah Holt, East Texas Baptist University sophomore Kim Childress and Concordia University Texas senior Jaela Dejean.
In the East Division, UT Dallas received four individual awards. In addition to Pena’s Player of the Year, they also selected Raenett Hughes as the Freshman of the Year and senior McKenzie Petty was named Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year. Comet head coach Polly Thomason was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career. They named Childress as Newcomer of the Year and the University of Texas at Tyler senior guard Alexus Bertrand earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
In the West Division, Howard Payne University’s Chelsey Harris was the Freshman of the Year, and UMHB senior Haven Neal was named the Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year for the second time in her career. McMurry University earned three individual awards. They selected Senior guard Sham Hunter as the Defensive Player of the Year, and junior Monica Jones took Newcomer of the Year. Also select, was Brittany Densman-Roes as West Division Coach of the Year for the first time in her career.
All-Conference Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Victoria Pena | So. | G | UT-Dallas | Helotes, Texas |
| Hannah Holt | So. | G | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Lumberton, Texas |
| Kendall Rollins | So. | G | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Fulshear, Texas |
| Kim Childress | So. | F | East Texas Baptist | Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
| Jaela Dejean 2 | Sr. | G | Concordia Texas | Houston, Texas |
Two-Time All-Conference2
All-Division Teams
East Division
Player of the Year – Victoria Pena, UT Dallas
Freshman of the Year – Raenett Hughes, UT Dallas
Newcomer of the Year – Kim Childress, East Texas Baptist
Defensive Player of the Year – Alexus Bertrand, UT Tyler
Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year – McKenzie Petty, UT Dallas
Coach of the Year – Polly Thomason, UT Dallas 4
Four-Time East Division Coach of the Year
First Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Victoria Pena | So. | G | UT-Dallas | Helotes, Texas |
| Kim Childress | So. | F | East Texas Baptist | Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
| Alex Kochner | Sr. | G | UT Tyler | Clear Lake, Texas |
| Brooke Jones 2 | Sr. | C | Louisiana College | Covington, La. |
| Carissa Spiker | So. | G | UT-Tyler | Sanger, Texas |
Second Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Kourtney McGhee 2 | Sr. | G | Louisiana College | Simmesport, La. |
| Raenett Hughes | Fr. | G | UT Dallas | College Station, Texas |
| Demi Cumby | Sr. | G | UT Tyler | Athens, Texas |
| Brittany Johnson | Sr. | G | UT Tyler | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Hailey Ostrander | Jr. | G | Ozarks | Alma, Ark. |
Two-Time East All- Division2
All-Freshman Team
| Name | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Raenett Hughes | G | UT Dallas | College Station, Texas |
| Keauna Whitfield | G | LeTourneau | Rosebud, Texas |
| Alexa Boushey | G | UT Dallas | Prosper, Texas |
| Kelley Skinner | G | UT Dallas | Katy, Texas |
| Cassie Emerson | F | Ozarks | Jasper, Ark. |
All-Defensive Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Alexus Bertrand 2 | Sr. | G | UT Tyler | Mesquite, Texas |
| Raenett Hughes | Fr. | G | UT Dallas | College Station, Texas |
| Kourtney McGhee | Sr. | G | Louisiana College | Simmesport, La. |
| Brittany Johnson | Sr. | G | UT Tyler | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Brooke Jones | Sr. | C | Louisiana College | Covington, La. |
Two-Time East All-Defensive Team2
Honorable Mention
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| AaLiyaha Thornton | Jr. | G | Belhaven | Hernando, Miss. |
| Ashley Reed | Sr. | G | LeTourneau | Cedar Hill, Texas |
| Madison McCoy | Fr. | G | East Texas Baptist | Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
| Madison Steele | Sr. | F | UT Dallas | Dripping Springs, Texas |
| Keauna Whitfield | Fr | G | LeTourneau | Rosebud, Texas |
| Erin Meeks | Jr. | C | East Texas Baptist | Orlando, Fla. |
| Kelley Skinner | Fr. | G | UT Dallas | Katy, Texas |
| Bianca Valderrama | Jr. | F | UT Tyler | Corpus Christi, Texas |
| Katy Boren | Sr. | G | East Texas Baptist | Lubbock, Texas |
| Alexa Boushey | Fr. | G | UT Dallas | Prosper, Texas |
West Division
Player of the Year – Kendall Rollins, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Freshman of the Year – Chelsey Harris, Howard Payne
Newcomer of the Year – Monica Jones, McMurry
Defensive Player of the Year – Sham Hunter, McMurry
Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year – Haven Neal, Mary Hardin-Baylor 2
Coach of the Year – Brittany Densman-Roes, McMurry
Two-Time West Division Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year2
First Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Kendall Rollins | So. | G | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Fulshear, Texas |
| Jaela Dejean 3 | Jr. | G | Concordia Texas | Houston, Texas |
| Hannah Holt | So. | G | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Lumberton, Texas |
| Sham Hunter 2 | Sr. | G | McMurry | Abilene, Texas |
| Skyler Reyna | So. | F | McMurry | San Antonio, Texas |
Three-Time West All-Defensive Team3 / Two-Time West All-Defensive Team2
Second Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Valarie Matlock | Jr. | G | Howard Payne | Azle, Texas |
| Danie Mabry | Sr. | G | Hardin-Simmons | Winnsboro, Texas |
| Heidi Schroeder | Sr. | C | Hardin-Simmons | Montgomery, Texas |
| Mercedes Ellison | Jr. | G | Concordia Texas | Victoria, Texas |
| Alicia Blackwell | So. | G | Mary Hardin-Baylor | McKinney, Texas |
All-Freshman Team
| Name | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Chelsey Harris | G | Howard Payne | Waco, Texas |
| Karlea Ritchie | F | Hardin-Simmons | Wichita Falls, Texas |
| Sara Perez | F | Concordia Texas | Dallas, Texas |
| Lindsay Carter | G | Concordia Texas | Dodd City, Texas |
| Brooke Elliott | G | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Georgetown, Texas |
All-Defensive Team
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Sham Hunter | Sr. | G | McMurry | Abilene, Texas |
| Jaela Dejean 2 | Sr. | G | Concordia Texas | Houston, Texas |
| Valarie Matlock 2 | Jr. | G | Howard Payne | Azle, Texas |
| Mercedes Ellison | Jr. | G | Concordia Texas | Victoria, Texas |
| Alicia Blackwell | So. | G | Mary Hardin-Baylor | McKinney, Texas |
| Hannah Holt | So. | G | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Lumberton, Texas |
Two-Time West All-Defensive Team2
Honorable Mention
| Name | Cl. | Pos. | School | Hometown |
| Payton Berger | So. | F | Concordia Texas | Azle, Texas |
| Presley McKethan | Sr. | G | Howard Payne | Robinson, Texas |
| Annie Lenoir | So. | G | Sul Ross State | Brady, Texas |
| Addison Garcia | Jr. | C | Hardin-Simmons | The Colony, Texas |
| Jada Evans | Sr. | G | Howard Payne | Harker Heights, Texas |
Cody Usher
Assistant Commissioner
American Southwest Conference