March 9, 2009

BEAUMONT, Texas - After leading the Lamar University women's basketball team to their best regular season record in 17 years and the No. 4 seed in the upcoming conference tournament Brittney Williams, Nikki Williams and Darika Hill were named to the leagues all conference teams.

Williams and Williams each earned Second Team All-SLC honors, while Hill was selected to the Third Team and was named Newcomer of the Year.

Brittney Williams, a Spring, Texas native, finished the regular season second in scoring for the Lady Cardinals with 11.9 points per game, with a shooting percentage of 45.6 which ranked second on the team and eighth in the conference. Her scoring average ranks 10th in the league for the second straight season and her 6.0 rebounds per game ranks 15th in the SLC this year.

During the year Brittney Williams became just the 10th player in school history to register 1,000 points and collect 500 rebounds. She finished the regular season ranking seventh all time in scoring and rebounding with 1,185 points and 575 rebounds.

For the second straight year Nikki Williams, a native of White Castle, La., was the all around leader for the Lady Cardinals. She leads the team in scoring, assists, steals and minutes played, while starting all 29 games. She is first in the SLC with 59 steals, her scoring average of 14.2 points ranks fifth in the conference while her 124 assists are third in the league.

In two seasons Nikki Williams has etched her name into the career-record book for the Lady Cardinals, cracking the top 10 in five different categories. She ranks third in school history in three point field goals made with 120, is tied for fourth in free throw shooting percentage at 79.5 percent, is fifth in assists with 243, is fifth in three point field goals attempted and is 10th in steals with 140.

Hill, a native on New Iberia, La., played a vital role for the Lady Cardinals this season. She leads the team with six double-doubles and is 13th in the SLC in scoring with 11.2 points per game while ranking ninth in rebounding with 7.2 boards per game. Her 43.6 shooting percentage is 12th-best in the league and defensively her 29 blocks rank seventh.

This is the third straight year the Lamar women's team has had a player earn a specialty award, as Tamara Abalde was named Freshman of the Year last year and Brittney Williams earned the same honor in 2007.

The Lady Cards will be back in action on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. when they take on Stephen F. Austin in the opening round of the 2009 State Farm Southland Conference Tournament at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.