April 5, 2012

ARLINGTON, Texas - Senior Bianca Sauls has been named to the All-Academic second team for the Southland Conference.

The Pflugerville native is a fifth-year senior and completed her first year of basketball after playing four years of volleyball for the Mavericks.

Sauls completed her major in broadcast communication with a minor in business administration and will complete her second degree of economics in May. The senior has maintained a 3.64 while leading the Mavericks in scoring and rebounding.

"I really appreciate the academic advisors and the coaches for staying on top of us and helping us keep our primary focus on school," Sauls said. "No pass, no play."

McNeese State junior Ashlyn Baggett has been named the Southland Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Thursday in conjunction with the release of the women's basketball all-academic teams.

Baggett led the Cowgirls to their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance after posting a 26-8 overall record with a 13-3 mark in conference play. A native of Iota, La. (Iota H.S.), Baggett helped McNeese successfully defend its Southland Conference tournament title and was named to the all-tournament team. The two-time first-time all-conference selection currently ranks 10th all-time in the Southland in 3-point field goal percentage (.366). Baggett led the Cowgirls in scoring and ranked seventh in the conference with 15.4 points per game. She also was second on the team in assists (2.5) and fourth in steals (1.4). Baggett scored her 1,000th career point against LSU on Dec. 16, 2011, and became McNeese's all-time 3-point career leader against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 4, 2012, passing the old mark of 178. Her 201 made 3-pointers is the seventh most in Southland history.

A nursing major with a 3.76 grade-point average, Baggett is the second player to be named the women's basketball student-athlete of the year twice, joining Maryann Abanobi from UT Arlington, who received the honor in 2006 and 2007.

There were two automatic selections on the all-academic teams including Baggett and Sam Houston State junior Britni Martin. Each picked up first-team all-conference honors following the season. The other eight all-academic honorees were selected by a vote of the league's head coaches, sports information contacts and academic advisors.

Martin a native of Conroe, Texas, is a business major with a 3.45 GPA and makes her second consecutive appearance on the all-academic team. Other first-team selections include McNeese State junior Caitlyn Baggett, Northwestern State senior Jordi James and Nicholls State sophomore KK Babin. Caitlyn Baggett, the twin sister of Ashlyn Baggett, is a two-time all-academic selection and was a second-team all-conference selection. Caitlyn Baggett is a nursing major with a 3.65 GPA. James, a McPhearson, Kan., native, has a 3.41 GPA in biology. Babin, a native of Gonzales, La., carries a 3.16 GPA in nursing.

Joining Sauls on the Second-team honorees include Sam Houston State junior Sequeena Thomas, Central Arkansas senior Marci Moffitt and junior Micah Rice, and Lamar graduate student Ang Green.

Thomas, a two-time all-academic selection, is a native of Allentown, Pa., and carries a 3.16 GPA in communications. Moffitt, a native of Batesville, Ark., is a pre-physical therapy majors and boasts the highest GPA on the all-academic team with a 3.79. Rice, who hails from Little Rock, Ark., makes her second appearance on the all-academic team with a 3.55 GPA in finance. Completing the all-academic team is two-time selection Green. The Silsbee, Texas, native has a 3.76 GPA in communications.

McNeese State, Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas led all schools with two members on the all-academic teams. Northwestern State, Nicholls State, UT Arlington and Lamar each had one apiece.

The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 12 member schools, voted for the student-athlete of the year.

The student-athlete of the year award is presented to the student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale and demonstrated achievement in athletics for at least two years at the nominating institution.

The all-academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.

2011-12 Southland Conference Women's Basketball All-Academic Teams

^2011-12 Southland Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year

¹Automatic selection

²Two-time all-academic selection

³Three-time all-academic selection