new orleans – Marshall guard Abby Beeman has been named Player of the Year to highlight the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Basketball Awards and All-Conference Teams announced Monday. The award was determined by a vote of the league's 14 head coaches.
The annual recognition will take place in advance of the 2024 Hercules Tire Sunbelt Women's Basketball Championship, which will be held March 5-11 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida. Click here for complete information on the championship.
Player of the Year: Abby Beaman, Marshall
Abby Beeman led Marshall to a 23-6 record (17-1 SBC) as the program won the outright 2024 Sun Belt regular season title. The Ridgely, West Virginia product averaged 16.8 points per game, sixth in the conference, and also averaged 5.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 6.2 assists per game. Beeman led the league with 6.2 assists per game and 179 helpers on the year, ranking 10th.th Nationally. Hurd's floor general also recorded two triple-doubles in the regular season, making him one of only six players in the nation to accomplish this in the 2023-24 season. Beaman has been an integral part of Marshall's dominant play against conference foes, leading Hurd to the program's best-ever record in conference play (17-1), a perfect 9-0 in road league contests, and for Marshall. He led them to their first 20 regular season wins. 1990-1991.
Defensive Player of the Year: Kay Clark (Old Dominion)
For the second year in a row, Clark led the Sun Belt in stolen bases (87) and steals per game (3.0). Her 87 swipes on the year also rank eighth in the nation, and her 3.0 steals per game are tied for 12.th In conference play, Clark had 54 steals and 3.0 steals per game, also best in the league. She was a top defensive player on one of the Sun Belt's top defensive teams, and her performance helped the Monarchs finish the regular season in 15th place.th Turnovers forced per game nationally (20.86), 25th turnover margin (4.59) and 3-point defense percentage (.271), and 28th Number of stolen bases per game (10.7). Old Dominion ranks second in the conference in points allowed at 60.0 points per game after leading the league in scoring defense for most of the season. Clark started all 29 games in the 2023-24 season and had 26 multiple steals. The Milwaukee, Wis., native had 100 rebounds (31 offensive, 69 defensive) and five blocks for the season.
Best Newcomer: Crystal Henderson, Georgia State University
Henderson made an immediate impact for the Panthers in his first season of college basketball. The point guard started every contest in his first season at Georgia State and led all Sun Belt freshmen in scoring (11.4 points), steals (1.76) and assists (4.4), a mark that He was ranked fifth among freshmen. NCAA. Henderson, who finished the season second on the team in scoring, scored a career-high 24 points in the conference opener against Troy and had 20 points, five 3-pointers and five assists in the Panthers' five-game win at Clemson. was recorded. Henderson finished the regular season with 14 games of double-digit scoring.
Newcomer of the Year: Daisha Bradford, ULM
Bradford led ULM to its most wins in a single season (18) since the 2007-08 season and helped the Warhawks post their longest conference winning streak in 19 years (six straight). The senior guard helped lead ULM to its first top-five finish in the conference regular season standings since the 2010-11 season and started all 30 games in 2023-24, good for fourth place in the conference. He scored 19.4 points per game. Bradford also ranked within the Sun Belt's top 10 in rebounds (7th7.5), defensive rebounds (3)rd5.7), free throw percentage (10th78.2), 3-point field goals per game (3rd2.3 per game), assists (5)th4.3) and assist/turnover ratio (7th, 1.4). The Mobile, Alabama, native led ULM this season with 50 steals and 38.2 percent from the field. Additionally, Bradford reached double digits in scoring in all but three games and scored 30 or more points in three games.
6th Woman of the Year: Katrin Manuel, ULM
Katrin Manuel, a three-year letterwinner at ULM, has embraced her role as the sixth woman and helped lead the Warhawks to their most wins in a single season (18) since 2007-08. did. Manuel averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game off the bench for ULM. The Rotel, La., product had three double-double performances and ranked first on the team with an impressive 52.5 percent field goal percentage. Manuel also had 30 blocks for the Warhawks, ranking fifth in the conference with 1.0 blocks per game.
Coach of the Year: Kim Caldwell, Marshall
In her first season at the helm, Caldwell led Marshall to a 23-6 record (including 17-1 in conference play) and the outright 2024 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball regular season title. The Hurd, picked ninth in the league's preseason poll, have been dominant in league play, posting an unblemished record of 9-0 in road conference games and in the win column in 21 of their last 23 games. The remaining. Marshall's 23 regular-season wins are the most by a first-year head coach in program history and the first since the 1990-91 season to record 20 regular-season wins. Hurd led the league in scoring offense (85.4 points per game), scoring percentage (13.9), team field goal percentage (43%) and turnover margin (23.6). Her 85.4 points per game for Marshall also ranks fifth in the nation, and her 13.3 steals per game also ranks third.
2024 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Year-End Awards
Player of the Year: Abby Beeman, Marshall [GR | G | Ridgeley, W.Va.]
Defensive Player of the Year: Kay Clark “Old Dominion” [GR | G | Milwaukee, Wis.]
This year's new students: Crystal Henderson, Georgia [FR | G | Marietta, Ga.]
Newcomer of the Year Award: Daisha Bradford, ULM [SR | G | Mobile, Ala.]
6th woman of the year: Katrin Manuel, ULM [JR | F | Lawtell, La.]
Coach of the Year: Kim Caldwell, Marshall
2024 Sun Belt Women's Basketball All-Conference Team
First army
Abby Beeman, Marshall [GR | G | Ridgeley, W.Va.]
Domonique Davis, Miss Southern [SR | G | DeRidder, La.]
Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas [JR | G | Batesville, Ark.]
Taysheka Porchia, Troy [SR | F | Camden, Ark.]
Southern Georgia Teren Ward [SR | G/F | Jesup, Ga.]
second team
Faith Alston, App State [SR | G | Centerville, Va.]
Daisha Bradford, ULM [SR | G | Mobile, Ala.]
Jamia Hollings, Troy [SR | F | West Point, Miss.]
Ksenia Kozlova, James Madison [R-JR | C | Moscow, Russia]
Peyton McDaniel, James Madison [R-SO | G | Birdsboro, Pa.]
third team
Endia Buford, Old Dominion [SR | G | Memphis, Tenn.]
Brianna Campbell, Marshall [SR | G | Largo, Fla.]
Melia Grayson, Miss Southern [R-JR | C | Hattiesburg, Miss.]
Makaiah Holmon, Troy [SR | G | Coushatta, La.]
Jakayla Johnson, ULM [JR | G | Clinton, Miss.]
Mikila Tribert, Georgia [JR | G | Melbourne, Fla.]
