NEW ORLEANS – UTA junior forward Starr Jacobs was named Player of the Year to highlight the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Awards and All-Conference Teams, announced Monday. The awards were voted upon by the league’s 12 head coaches.
The annual awards precede the 2022 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship, set to take place March 2-7 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. For complete championship information,
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Player of the Year: Starr Jacobs, UTA
Jacobs leads the Sun Belt Conference and ranks 18th nationally in scoring with 20.2 points per game (all games combined), putting her on pace to become the first UTA player in program history to average 20-plus points per game in a season. In conference play, she averaged 20.9 points per game on .525 shooting (117-of-223). Against Sun Belt Conference opponents, Jacobs scored 20 or more points on eight occasions, including two 30-plus point showings in league play. Jacobs has scored 10 or more points in each of her 23 games this season. In all games combined, Jacobs ranks 22nd nationally in field goals made (194), 25th in field-goal percentage (55.1), and 67th in steals per game (2.29). She is a four-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week selection. Jacobs is UTA’s first SBC Player of the Year honoree since Cierra Johnson was the award’s co-recipient in 2019.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ty’Reona Doucet, Louisiana
Doucet earned the Sun Belt’s Defensive Player of the Year accolade for the second consecutive season. She has been Louisiana’s top player throughout the season, averaging 11.8 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game (all games combined). In league play, Doucet averaged a double-double with 13.0 points per game and 11.3 boards per contest. She charted nine double-doubles in 13 league contests. In conference games, Doucet ranked second in the Sun Belt in blocks per game with 2.0. In all games combined, Doucet ranks 46th nationally in blocks per game (1.83), 50th in double-doubles (10) and 71st in rebounds per game (8.9).
Freshman of the Year: Lauryn Pendleton, Arkansas State
Pendleton has made a big impact for the Red Wolves in her first season of college basketball. In Sun Belt Conference play, Pendleton ranked 15th in the league with 12.3 points per game and fourth in three-point field goal percentage at .392. She averaged 28.9 minutes per game in league action. She scored in double figures in nine of 14 conference games. In all games combined, Pendleton averaged 11.1 points per game and shot 36 percent from beyond the arc. She is Arkansas State’s first SBC Freshman of the Year selection since Julie Hagood in 1997.
Newcomer of the Year: Alexia Allesch, App State
Allesch, who transferred to App State from Seton Hall, averaged a double-double in Sun Belt play with 15.7 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game. She was one of only four players in the league to accomplish that feat. Allesch is the only Sun Belt player to rank in the top-seven in the league in the following categories – scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage, three-pointers per game and blocked shots per game. She totaled eight double-doubles in Sun Belt Conference games and 10 double-doubles overall – both totals were second-most among all players. Allesch charted four 20-plus point games in conference action. In all games combined, she averages 13.7 points per game and 9.6 boards per contest. Allesch helped App State to an 8-4 conference mark – the best league record since the Mountaineers joined the SBC.
Sixth Woman of the Year: Terren Ward, Georgia Southern
Ward is the recipient of the Sun Belt’s inaugural Sixth Woman of the Year Award. She recorded six double-doubles in Sun Belt Conference play, averaging 16.8 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game and 2.3 steals per game. She registered four consecutive double-doubles from January 22 to February 5, the first such feat for a Georgia State player since 1991-92. Ward was named Sun Belt Player of the Week on February 15 for back-to-back 30-point performances against App State and Coastal Carolina, the first for an Eagle since 1991. In all games combined, Ward averages 15.3 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and 2.0 steals per game.
Coach of the Year: Shereka Wright, UTA
Wright led UTA to a 17-7 overall record, including a 11-4 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. The Lady Mavs secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Championship. She became only the second coach in school history to record back-to-back 10-win seasons in conference play in her first two seasons. Wright led UTA to its first-ever win against a nationally ranked opponent, defeating No. 13/17 South Florida, 61-56, on December 2. She also directed her team to non-conference wins against Houston, UNLV, Rice and North Texas. Wright’s team finished the season with a 9-2 road record, marking the best true road winning percentage (.818) in school history.
2022 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Awards
Coach of the Year: Shereka Wright, UTA
Player of the Year: Starr Jacobs, UTA
Defensive Player of the Year: Ty'Reona Doucet, Louisiana
Freshman of the Year: Lauryn Pendleton, Arkansas State
Newcomer of the Year: Alexia Allesch, App State
Sixth Woman of the Year: Terren Ward, Georgia Southern
All-Sun Belt Conference Teams (ties were not broken)
First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference
Aja Blount, Coastal Carolina
Ty'Reona Doucet, Louisiana
Starr Jacobs, UTA
Da'Nasia Hood, Texas State
Felmas Koranga, Troy
Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference
Alexia Allesch, App State
Sali Kourouma, Little Rock
Terren Ward, Georgia Southern
Terryn Milton, UTA
Kennedy Taylor, Texas State
Third-Team All-Sun Belt Conference
Janay Sanders, App State
Mayra Caicedo, Little Rock
Trinitee Jackson, Arkansas State
Makayia Hallmon, Louisiana
Kyren Whittington, ULM
Amber Leggett, Troy