BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Norianna Haynes of Alcorn State has been named Southwestern Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year as announced by the Conference Tuesday, March 8.
Also selected by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors were Keiana Vines of Texas Southern as Defensive Player of the Year, Niya Head of Arkansas-Pine Bluff as Newcomer of the Year and Jazmin Boyd and Nadine Domond of Grambling State as Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectfully.
Haynes finished the regular season leading the SWAC in scoring with 568 points – 20.3 per game. She also topped the Conference in double-doubles (12), as well as defensive rebounds (6.6 per game). Haynes paced the Lady Braves in 21 games this season, recording 16 appearances of 20-plus points. Her highest scoring contest came in the non-conference game against Louisiana-Lafayette where Haynes netted 39 points. She is the only student-athlete in the league to hit 35-plus points this season.
Vines was crowned the Defensive Player of the Year after finishing the season first in the league in blocked shots, averaging 3.3 per game. She is one of four SWAC student-athletes currently ranked nationally by the NCAA, standing ninth in blocked shots per game, 10th in blocked shots (89) and 12th in field-goal percentage (57.3).
As Newcomer of the Year, Head paced the Lady Lions with a team-high 376 points, an average of 13 per game. She also tops UAPB in rebounds 201. Head’s best performance was during the 69-60 victory over Alabama A&M where she tallied a season-high 22 points.
Grambling State claimed two individual awards courtesy of Boyd and Domond who were named Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectfully.
Boyd stands second in the Conference in free throw percentage at .776 and sixth in three-point percentage (.320). Her best performance was in the 89-69 win over Alabama State where she scored a career-high 27 points. Boyd’s efforts helped the Lady Tigers become the only team this season to defeat each of the top three teams (Alabama State, Texas Southern and Southern) in the league. During her first collegiate season, Boyd earned 270 points (10.8 per game).
In her second year as a Division I head coach and a member of the SWAC, Domond earned her award after leading GRAM to its best win/loss record in six-plus years. Domond was also credited with getting the Lady Tigers through five consecutive victories – the team’s longest run since the 2010-11 season.
The entire list of awards and first and second teams are below:
FIRST TEAM
Guard – Brianna Sidney – Texas Southern
Guard – Britney Washington – Southern
Forward – Norianna Haynes – Alcorn State
Forward – Britney Wright – Alabama State
Center – Keiana Vines – Texas Southern
SECOND TEAM
Guard – Shakyla Hill – Grambling State
Guard – Lamaria Cole – Prairie View A&M
Forward – Larissa Scott – Prairie View A&M
Forward – Toni Cheadle – Texas Southern
Center – Jasmine Peeples – Alabama State
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Norianna Haynes – Alcorn State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Keiana Vines – Texas Southern
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Niya Head – Arkansas-Pine Bluff
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Jazmin Boyd – Grambling State
COACH OF THE YEAR
Nadine Domond – Grambling State
Courtesy: SWAC
