Ryan and McNamee Pick Up Postseason Awards  

SPOKANE, Wash. – Montana State Billings juniors, Kayla Ryan and Sarah McNamee, earned a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference postseason awards the conference office announced on Tuesday. McNamee was named Co-GNAC Newcomer of the Year, sharing the award with Alaska Anchorage’s Kelsie Gourdin, while Ryan was named to the All-GNAC second team.

Seattle Pacific’s Daesha Henderson was named Player of the Year and Seattle Pacific head coach Julie Van Beek was named Coach of the Year for the second time at SPU.  Northwest Nazarene guard Heather Adams was voted Freshman of the Year.  She was the Crusaders’ assist leader with 62 and also averaged 5.4 points per game.

Joining Henderson on the conference’s first-team all-star team were Western Washington guard Amanda Dunbar, Northwest Nazarene guard Lindsay Brady, forward Nicci Miller of Alaska Anchorage, post Jessica Summers of Western Washington and forward Katie Torland of Western Oregon.

Ryan was joined on the second team by Tamar Gruwell of Alaska Anchorage, Megan Hoisington of Seattle Pacific, Western Washington’s Willow Cabe and Dara Zack of Saint Martin’s.  Zack was a first-team pick in 2008-09.

Ryan led the Yellowjackets with 13.1 points per game this season along with 8.9 rebounds, which also led the team. She finished the season with 31 blocks and 47 assists. Ryan shot 43.8 percent from the field including shooting 31.4 percent from beyond the arc. She was an 82.6 percent free throw shooter, going 114-for-138 from the free throw line.

McNamee finished the season as the second leading scorer on the team with 12.6 points per game. She recorded 3.0 rebounds per game and totaled 64 assists with a team-high 41 steals. McNamee was a 74.1 percent free throw shooter this season and shot 36.0 percent from the field, including 31.4 percent from deep.

2009-10 GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

FIRST TEAM: +*Daesha Henderson, Seattle Pacific (G, 5-8, Sr., Snohomish, WA); Amanda Dunbar, Western Washington (G, 5-9, Jr., Marysville, WA); Lindsay Brady, Northwest Nazarene (G, 5-8, Sr., Boise, ID); Nicci Miller, Alaska Anchorage  (F, 5-10, Sr., Denver, CO); *Katie Torland, Western Oregon  (F, 5-10, Sr., Burns, OR); Jessica Summers, Western Washington (P, 6-1, Sr., Blaine, WA).

SECOND TEAM: Tamar Gruwell, Alaska Anchorage (G, 5-8, Sr., Fairfield, CA); Megan Hoisington, Seattle Pacific (F, 5-11, Sr., Bremerton, WA); Willow Cabe, Western Washington (F, 6-1, Sr., Elma, WA); Dara Zack, Saint Martin’s (F, 5-10, Jr., Spokane, WA); Kayla Ryan, MSU Billings (C, 6-1, Jr., Big Timber, MT).        

HONORABLE MENTION: Janee Olds, Northwest Nazarene (G, 5-8, Sr., Coos Bay, OR); Kristin Hein, Northwest Nazarene (F, 5-11, Sr., Tualatin, OR); Hanna Johansson, Alaska Anchorage (F, 6-2, So., Gothenburg, Sweden); Kelsie Gourdin, Alaska Anchorage (F, 5-10, Jr., Littleton, CO); Sophie Russell, Central Washington (W, 5-10, So., Lacey, WA).