NEW ORLEANS – James Madison senior guard Kiki Jefferson was named Player of the Year to highlight the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Awards and All-Conference Teams, announced Monday. The awards were voted upon by the league’s 14 head coaches. 
 
The annual awards precede the 2023 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship, set to take place February 28 -  March 6 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla. For complete championship information, please click here. 
 
Player of the Year: Kiki Jefferson, James Madison
Kiki Jefferson helped lead James Madison to a 23-7 (13-5 SBC) record as the program claimed a share of the 2023 Sun Belt regular season title. The Lancaster, Pa. native averaged 18.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, good for first and sixth in the league respectively. The guard was also one of the most efficient shooters in the conference, knocking down 164-of-387 (42.4 percent) from the field, the eighth-best mark in the league. Additionally, the senior was hard to guard as opponents sent her to the line for 235 attempts, which is currently the second-most attempts in the NCAA. Jefferson converted on 187 of those tries, the most makes in the country. Meanwhile, her 549 points on the season are good for 26th in all of Division I. Jefferson, who is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, is a three-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week selection. 
 
Defensive Player of the Year: Emma Merriweather, ULM
Graduate center Emma Merriweather put together a standout season for the Warhawks. She has been ULM’s top player throughout the season, averaging 10.1 points per game, 10.6 rebounds per game, and 3.25 blocks per game. Merriweather closed the regular season having scored in double figures in 13 contests and leads the league with 12 double-doubles on the year. The Buena Park, Calif. native averaged 10.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 4.0 blocked shots in Sun Belt games, including 10 double-doubles. In addition, Merriweather is listed among the NCAA Division I leaders in blocked shots (3^rd, 91), blocked shots per game (4^th, 3.25) overall rebounding (15^th, 10.6), offensive rebounding (17^th, 3.9), and double-doubles (32^nd, 12).   
 
Freshman of the Year: Kelsey Thompson, South Alabama
Thompson has made an immediate impact for the Jaguars in her first season of college basketball. In Sun Belt Conference play, Thompson ranked 27^th in the league with 11.1 points per game. She averaged 28.8 minutes per game in league action. She finished the year with double-figures in the scoring column 13 times and eclipsed the 20-point mark in five contests. In all games combined, Thompson averaged 10.5 points per game to lead the Jags offensively while also dishing out a team-high 2.3 assists per game. 
 
Newcomer of the Year: Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas State
Higginbottom, who transferred to Arkansas State from Missouri, averaged 15.3 points per game in conference play. The Batesville, Ark. native also leads the Red Wolves in assists (3.5) and steals (1.9), as well as shooting a team-best 89.1 percent from the foul line, a mark that also ranks 14^th nationally. Higginbottom turned up the heat to close the regular season, scoring at least 19 points in each of the last four games. The sophomore guard also turned in five 20-point performances on the season, four of which came in Sun Belt play. 
 
Sixth Woman of the Year: Peyton McDaniel, James Madison
McDaniel is the Sun Belt’s Sixth Woman of the Year after an impressive season that saw her average 11.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 22.9 minutes of action per contest. The Birdsboro, Pa. native paces the Sun Belt from beyond the arc, shooting at a 38.4 percent clip (66-of-172). Her 66 three-pointers on the year and 2.36 threes per game also sits second in the conference. McDaniel was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on February 24 after posting back-to-back 20-point performances against Georgia Southern and Troy. She also notched the first double-double of her career on Feb. 22 at App State, scoring 18 points and hauling in a career-high 10 rebounds. 
 
Coach of the Year: Zenarae Antoine, Texas State
Antoine led Texas State to a 21-8 overall record, including a 13-5 mark in the Sun Belt Conference to earn a share of the regular season title, the Bobcats’ first in 15 years. The conference championship was Texas State’s second regular season conference title as a Division I team in program history. The Bobcats have also won two conference tournament titles (1997, 2003). In her 12^th season at the helm, Antoine became the program’s all-time winningest coach earlier this season, notching her 175^th victory. Antoine, who now boasts 185 career wins at Texas State, also ranks third amongst active Sun Belt coaches with 99 conference victories.  Antoine’s squad closed the regular season with 7-2 marks in conference road games and 8-4 in all road games, marking its first winning record on the road since 2017-18. 
 
 
2023 Sun Belt Women’s Basketball End-of-Year Awards
 
Coach of the Year: Zenarae Antoine, Texas State
Freshman of the Year: Kelsey Thompson, South Alabama
Newcomer of the Year: Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas State
Player of the Year: Kiki Jefferson, James Madison
Defensive Player of the Year: Emma Merriweather, ULM
Sixth Woman of the Year: Peyton McDaniel, James Madison
 
 
All-Conference Teams
 
First Team
Kiki Jefferson, James Madison
Da’Nasia Hood, Texas State
Terren Ward, Georgia Southern
Domonique Davis, Southern Miss
Aja Blount, Coastal Carolina
 
Second Team
Makayia Hallmon, Troy
Roshala Scott, Marshall
Kennedy Taylor, Texas State
Amari Young, Old Dominion
Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas State
 
Third Team
Ja’Mia Hollings, Troy
Lanay Wheaton, Louisiana
Tai’Sheka Porchia, Troy
Deaja Richardson, Coastal Carolina
Emma Merriweather, ULM