ROCK HILL, South Carolina – The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) has announced its annual women’s basketball awards to conclude 2019-2020 regular season. This year’s all-conference teams, which feature fifteen student-athletes, were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Benedict’s forward, Ay’Anna Bey, leads the 2020 SIAC Women’s Basketball All-Conference team as the 2020 SIAC Player of the Year.
Savannah State’s Ta’Kyla Austin garnished this year’s Newcomer of the Year award, while teammate, Amari Heard captured the SIAC Freshman of the Year award.
Raiana Johnson of Miles Colleges earned this SIAC’s Defensive Player of the Year honor for the league. Phillip Wallace Jr., Miles College’s head women’s basketball coach, has earned the 2020 SIAC Coach of the Year award.
In her junior season, Bey has earned the honor of the SIAC Player of the Year for her second consecutive year. During the regular season, Bey’s top performance came against Limestone College as she finished with a season-high 36 points to while averaging over 16 points per game and pulling down 9.5 rebounds per game. The New Jersey native grabbed 257 rebounds on the season leading her team to the top of the Eastern Division finishing with a 15-2 (SIAC) 24-3 (overall) record. The junior forward shot a solid 47 percent from the field and 77 percent from the charity line.
Savannah State’s Ta’Kyla Austin has earned this year’s Newcomer of the Year award after leading the Lady Tigers to one of their best overall records in six years and entering the conference tournament at the No. 2 seed. In her junior season, Austin averaged 13.4 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. The Florida native finished the regular season shooting 67.6 percent from the free-throw line.
This year’s SIAC Freshman of the Year honor has been awarded to Amari Heard of Savannah State. The rookie has been a force for the Lady Tigers in her first year of league play, helping lead her team to one of their best records. The Georgia native averaged 9.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. From the field, she connected on 41.7 percent of her shots and 43.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Raiana Johnson of Miles College has earned the honor of SIAC Defensive Player of the Year. The junior forward averaged 5.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. She connected on 47.3 percent of her shots from the field and 51.7 percent from the free-throw line. Johnson grabbed 161 rebounds, blocked 31 shots, and collected 20 steals during the regular season.
In his twelfth season leading the Golden Bears, Coach Wallace has earned the Coach of the Year honors. Coach Wallace has led his team to an impressive overall record of 19-7 and 14-4 conference record. The Golden Bears collected 13-straight home victories and capped a perfect 11-0 mark at Knox-Windham Gymnasium this season, the best in the history of the program.
(complete team listed below)
2019-20 SIAC Women’s Basketball All-Conference Team
First Team
| Ay’Anna Bey | Benedict | Junior | Forward | Blackwood, NJ |
| Tiffany Valentine | Spring Hill | Redshirt Senior | Forward | Houston, TX |
| Sakina Wynn | Miles | Senior | Guard | Center Point, Ala. |
| Keondra Archie | Paine | Junior | Forward | Eastover, S.C. |
| Takyra Gilbert | Central State | Senior | Point Guard | Hamilton, OH |
Second Team
| Lamontazia Blair | LeMoyne-Owen | Junior | Guard | Nashville, TN |
| Le’Andrea Gillis | Savannah State | Sophomore | Guard | Adrian, Ga. |
| Nola Carter | Fort Valley State | Senior | Guard | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Alexandria James | Albany State | Senior | Guard | Notasulga, Ala. |
| India Blakely | Tuskegee | Junior | Guard | Troy, Ala. |
Coach of the Year
Phillip Wallace, Miles
Defensive Player of the Year
Raiana Johnson, Miles
Freshman of the Year
Amari Heard, Savannah State
Newcomer of the Year
Ta’Kyla Austin, Savannah State
Player of the Year
Ay’Anna Bey, Benedict
Courtesy: SIAC
