The University of Akron Athletics
Women's Basketball Holds End of Year Banquet
May 02 | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron women's basketball team held their annual end of year awards banquet on Friday evening, handing out several postseason awards to its players. The Zips (14-16, 6-10 MAC) capped the 2010-11 season with a berth in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals in head coach Jodi Kest's fifth season at the helm of the program. The team gave out several specialty awards, starting with Most Outstanding Player, presented to sophomore Rachel Tecca for her stellar season as the team leader in scoring and rebounding. She was also honored for earning All-MAC First Team recognition, only the third Zip to ever make the First Team. Junior Jasmine Mushington was named the team's Most Improved player, and she also received her MAC award for Co-Sixth Player of the Year.
Freshman of the Year honors went to Carly Young, who also made the MAC All-Freshman Team in her first year as a Zip. Classmate Kacie Cassell took home the Community Service award for her work off the court, and Brianna Moyes, also a freshman, was honored with the Coaches' Award. Finally, the Scholar Award was given to Tecca for her excellence in the classroom.
The evening also featured the presentation of commemorative basketballs to Akron's lone senior Kara Murphy for her record-breaking career. The Hartville, Ohio native broke program records for games played (123) and points scored (1,777) over her four years in the Blue & Gold. Murphy also earned All-MAC Honorable Mention honors, placing her on the All-MAC squad all four years of her career.
The team also recognized the academic achievements of Tecca, Taylor Ruper, and Natasha Williams, who earned the MAC Commissioner's Award for student-athletes with GPA's of 3.5 or higher. The following Zips also made the MAC Honor Roll with GPA's of at least 3.0: Murphy, Tecca, Ruper, Williams, and Katie Bubna.
