Women’s Basketball Garners Athlete of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year Amongst Conference Awards

Women’s Basketball Garners Athlete of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year Amongst Conference Awards
Posted: Feb 26, 2020

Headlined by senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) being honored as the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Women's Basketball Athlete of the Year, it was announced that University of Redlands women's basketball landed two individuals among the 2020 All-SCIAC Teams. For the second year in a row, Lacey represented the Maroon and Gray on the First Team, while sophomore guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) earned Second-Team recognition.

In addition, with the best conference record of his tenure at 14-2, 13th-year Head Coach Rich Murphy and second-year Assistant Denise Bennett were named the Coaching Staff of the Year. Murphy won his 200th game at Redlands earlier this season and earned sole possession of the regular-season SCIAC title for the first time in Redlands history.

Lacey and Downs account for 39.2% of the Maroon and Gray's offense against conference opponents with Lacey averaging 13.3 points per game and Downs with 12.9.

Individually, Lacey makes nearly half of her shots with a 47.4% field-goal percentage, which is third-best on the team. Lacey also distributes the ball efficiently with a team-leading 2.9 assists, while also pacing all guards with 5.2 rebounds per game. She has scored in double-figures in all but three conference games, including an 18-point performance in a win at Occidental College. In her strongest game in conference, she added a career-high 16 rebounds to her 15 points in a 71-54 win against Cal Lutheran University.

Downs averages the most minutes on the team at 32.6 per night. She leads the team with a 38.8% three-point percentage against SCIAC opponents, which is fourth in the conference and is also fourth with 2.4 made triples per game. In addition, she gets to the free-throw line the most on the team and is third in the SCIAC with an 86.0% clip. Downs has also scored in double figures in all but three conference games, including her 19 points in a win at Chapman University. She has knocked down at least three treys in seven SCIAC games this season.

For a complete list of this year's All-Conference Team, please visit the SCIAC's website.

Redlands (19-6, 14-2 SCIAC) is the No. 1 seed in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament and will host No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Thursday, February 27, at 7 p.m.