INDIANAPOLIS -- For the second-straight year, a Wright State student-athlete earns Player of the Year honors as senior Tay’ler Mingo was tabbed the 2014-15 accolade in voting by the League’s coaches, media and sports information directors.
Mingo led the conference in three different statistical categories with an average of 22.9 points per game, 5.4 assists per game and 2.9 steals per game. The senior also slated a spot on the First-Team All-League and the All-Defensive team for the second-consecutive season.
Raiders’ head coach Mike Bradbury earned his first-ever Coach of the Year accolade after leading Wright State to a 12-4 conference record and the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. The Raiders out-scored League opponents by 13.6 points per game and boasted the highest scoring offense with a 78.4 point average per contest.
UIC junior Ruvanna Campbell posted a League-leading 13 double-doubles throughout conference play and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in addition to earning a spot on the First-Team All-League and All-Defensive Team squads. Campbell averaged 15.4 rebounds per game and 18.3 points per contest for the Flames.
In her inaugural season on the court for the Crusaders, Dani Franklin was voted the Freshman and Sixth Person of the Year. Franklin paced all newcomers with 12.7 points per game and a .463 field goal percentage.
The First-Team All-League was compiled of upperclassmen from five different League institutions. Joining Mingo and Campbell were Youngstown State senior Heidi Schlegel, Milwaukee senior Ashley Green and Cleveland State senior Cori Coleman.
Schlegel ranked second in the conference with 20.7 points per game and an .819 free throw percentage. Green took third in League scoring with 18.3 points a contest and was sixth in rebounding with 7.9 boards per game. Coleman recorded 15.9 points per game in her final season for the Vikings while also averaging a second-best 2.4 steals per game and ranked third in free throw percentage (.817).
Green Bay garnered the regular season title and tournament top seed for the 17th-consecutive season and slotted three Phoenix on the Second-Team All-League in senior Megan Lukan (5.3 apg, 1.8 spg) and sophomores Mehryn Kraker (12.1 ppg, .487 FG%), and Tesha Buck (12.1 ppg, 3.9 apg). Lukan also tabbed All-Defensive Team honors in the voting.
Rounding out the Second-Team were Cleveland State senior Imani Gordon and Detroit sophomore Rosanna Reynolds. Gordon led all Vikings’ scorers in League play with 16.6 points per game as Reynolds topped the Titans in scoring with 18.3 points per contest.
Franklin was joined by teammate Jasmyn Walker on the All-Freshman team in addition to Milwaukee’s Jenny Lindner, Detroit’s Darianne Seward and Youngstown State’s Indiya Benjamin. Walker paced the freshman class with nine double-doubles in League action. Lindner averaged 11.1 points per contest for the Panthers as Seward contributed 10.8 points per game and 1.6 steals per game for the Titans. Benjamin distributed 3.6 assists per game and 1.6 triples per contest in a Penguin uniform.
UIC’s Terri Bender and Oakland sophomore Sinclair Russell took the remaining spots on the All-Defensive Team. Bender averaged 2.2 steals per game for the Flames while Russell led the conference in blocked shots averaging 1.6 per contest with 26 total.
The Horizon League Women’s Basketball Tournament kicks-off tonight with No. 8 Milwaukee hosting No. 9 Valparaiso for an 8:00 p.m. ET tip-off to be streamed on ESPN3. Quarterfinals begin on Wednesday, March 11 with No. 1 Green Bay facing the winner of the First Round starting at 8:00 p.m. ET. The remaining Quarterfinal matchups begin at 7:00 p.m. ET as No. 2 Wright State hosts No. 7 Oakland, No. 5 Detroit is at No. 4 Youngstown State and No. 3 Cleveland State welcomes No. 6 UIC.
The semifinals and finals will take place at the site of the highest remaining seed. Semifinals action starts Friday, March 13 with games beginning at 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. local time on ESPN3. The Championship is set for Sunday, March 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET to be aired on ESPNU.
2014-15 Postseason Awards
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State (Sr., G)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Bradbury, Wright State (5th season)
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Dani Franklin, Valparaiso (F)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ruvanna Campbell, UIC (Jr., F)
SIXTH PERSON OF THE YEAR
Dani Franklin, Valparaiso (Fr., F)
FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State (Sr., G)
Ruvanna Campbell, UIC (Jr., F)
Heidi Schlegel, Youngstown State (Sr., F)
Ashley Green, Milwaukee (Sr., F/G)
Cori Coleman, Cleveland State (Sr., G)
SECOND TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
Imani Gordon, Cleveland State (Sr., F)
Megan Lukan, Green Bay (Sr., G)
Mehryn Kraker, Green Bay (So., G)
Tesha Buck, Green Bay (So., G)
Rosanna Reynolds, Detroit (So., G)
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Dani Franklin, Valparaiso (F)
Jenny Lindner, Milwaukee (G)
Darianne Seward, Detroit (G)
Jasmyn Walker, Valparaiso (F)
Indiya Benjamin, Youngstown State (G)
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Ruvanna Campbell, UIC (Jr., F)
Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State (Sr., G)
Megan Lukan, Green Bay (Sr., G)
Terri Bender, UIC (Jr., G)
Sinclair Russell, Oakland (So., F)
Tags: Cleveland State - Women's Basketball · Detroit Mercy - Women's Basketball · Green Bay - Women's Basketball · Horizon League - Women's Basketball · Milwaukee - Women's Basketball · Oakland - Women's Basketball · UIC - Women's Basketball · Valparaiso - Women's Basketball · Wright State - Women's Basketball · Youngstown State - Women's Basketball
