Waxahachie, Texas—February 28 th , 2018-The Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) announced the All-Conference awards for the 2017-2018 season today and three Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) women’s basketball players were honored for their performances this season. The All-Conference awards are voted on by the league’s coaches.
Lexi Rich, a sophomore from San Antonio, Texas was named Second Team All-Conference and won the Sooner Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Award. Rich led the team with 15.4 points per game while shooting 44% from 3-point range and also averaged 5 rebounds per game. The Sportsmanship award goes to the player in the conference who best demonstrates the core values of the NAIA, which are respect, integrity, servant leadership, sportsmanship, and responsibility.
Head Coach Tiffany Phillips was very positive when speaking about Lexi Rich. Phillips said, “When I met with Lexi at the end of last year she made it a goal of hers to make at least second team all-conference. Lexi didn’t just say it though, she worked for it. She is a player that is always in the gym putting in work. She has made herself into one the top players in the league. She has a high basketball IQ and she just knows how to score. She may not always be the most athletic on the floor but she is going to outwork you and outsmart you every time. I am proud of the way Lexi has developed this season. She is only going up from here.”
Kiara Glenn, a freshman from Ennis, Texas was name the Sooner Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and named to the Honorable Mention All-Conference team. The freshman was SAGU’s third leading scorer with 11.5 points per game. She also averaged five rebounds per game and two assists per game. Glenn is the first player in SAGU women’s basketball history to be named freshman of the year.
Head Coach Tiffany Phillips was happy for her freshman. Phillips said, “This is something that Kiara and I have talked about since the recruiting process. She knew that if she played like she was capable of playing she could reach this goal. She worked hard for it every day. Of course she made some freshman mistakes but she did a great job this year of being the floor general. She has grown up a lot on the court and she is growing up off the court too. It’s been really fun to watch her mature and turn into a great basketball player. Her future here is really bright and I could not be any more excited about what she can accomplish for the SAGU women’s basketball program. She deserves this.”
McKenzie Martin, a junior from Allen, Texas was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention team. Martin averaged 13.1 points per game while shooting 46 % from 3-point range. She also shot 78% from the free throw line and hit a career high 8 3-pointers against John Brown University earlier in the season.
Phillips said, “McKenzie is obviously a great shooter. She makes teams have to focus on her and it opens up things for other people as well. She has nearly perfected her shot by hard work. That girl is in the gym every single day working on her shot. I think she makes like 150 three’s per day and that is all on her own time. She just works so hard on her craft and I am really proud of what she accomplished this season.”
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Wort Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU .
