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Women's Basketball ranked No. 4 in WBCA Academic Top 25
ATLANTA -- The Shorter University women's basketball team
has achieved the No. 4 ranking in the Women's Basketball Coaches
Association (WBCA) 2010-11 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll
according to an announcement made by the organization on Monday
afternoon.
The Lady Hawks boasted a team grade point average of 3.584 to secure their highest-ever ranking in the WBCA's annual Academic Top 25 ratings. Shorter closed out the 2009-10 campaign ranked No. 9 with a 3.45 team GPA.
"This wraps up a great 2010-11 season and I can't think of any better news to for us to receive in mid-July before we are about to prepare for the new season," said Shorter head women's basketball coach Vic Mitchell, who has coached 54 Academic All-Conference selections and 16 NAIA Scholar-Athletes since 1991.
"This is a tremendous honor for that group of student-athletes," Mitchell added. "I believe that there is a correlation between success on the court and success off the court and this honor gives our future teams something to shoot for. I'm sure that with so many girls coming back, they will strive to finish this next year even better than 2010-11."
2010-11 was a special year for the Shorter women's basketball team.
The Lady Hawks posted a record fourth straight 20-win season and finished the year with a 24-8 overall record and 13-3 mark in the Southern States Athletic Conference. The 24 wins were the most during the stretch of 20-win seasons and were the highest number of victories since the 1978-79 Lady Hawks compiled a 28-5 record.
Shorter made a return trip to the NAIA Divison I Women's Basketball National Championship -- it was Shorter's third appearance in the national tournament overall -- and became the third Shorter program in the last four years to be named the NAIA Champions of Character National Team Award winner.
Shorter placed eight student-athletes on the SSAC All-Academic team and saw juniors Kelly Ellison and Brittney Smith earn NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition.
It was an especially incredible year for Ellison, Shorter's two-time All-America point guard who was named the SSAC's 2010-11 Female Honor Student-Athlete and the NAIA's 2011 recipient of the prestigious Emil S. Liston Award.
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as a sport for women and girls.
The WBCA Academic Top 25 annually recognizes NCAA Divisions I, II and III; NAIA; and junior college/community college teams across the nation that carry the highest combined grade point averages (GPAs) inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2010-11 season is the 14th in which the WBCA has presented the standings.
For more information about the WBCA, visit wbca.org.
