Atlantic Sun Conference

Bell Takes Top @ASUNWBB Honor; 2020-21 Postseason Awards Announced

3/3/2021 12:00:00 AM

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ATLANTA, Ga. - FGCU landed three of the top ASUN Conference Women's Basketball Postseason All-Conference accolades with unanimous decisions, as voted on by the league's head coaches. The Eagles' Kierstan Bell garnered both Player and Newcomer of the Year honors while Karl Smesko captured the Coach of the Year award. North Florida's Jazz Bond was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year while the Freshman of the Year nod was awarded to North Alabama's Sakyia White.

Bell becomes the third consecutive player from FGCU to be recognized as Player of the Year after leading the Eagles to their 11th ASUN Regular Season title with a 16-0 conference record. This is the second time in program history an Eagle has been selected as the Newcomer of the Year. On the season, the sophomore transfer averaged 24.8 points per contest, topping the league and ranking fifth in the nation with her scoring average ranking as the fourth-highest in ASUN history. She recorded three 30-plus point outings during conference play including a program-best 42 against Jacksonville on Feb. 21. The Alliance, Ohio, native also ranks first in the conference at 10.7 rebounds per game and tallied 15 double-doubles on the year.

Bond takes home the Defensive Player of the Year honor after being named the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in November and becomes the second UNF player to capture the award. The senior from Murfreesboro, Tenn., led the ASUN in blocks (61) and eclipsed 200 rejections for her career this season. Her total blocks (61) on the year and blocks per game (2.8) rank 12th and 15th in the country, respectively. She swatted away four or more shots in six contests this year while also ranking third in the conference with 8.2 RPG.

White becomes the first-ever North Alabama Women's Basketball student-athlete to be named Freshman of the Year. The Tuscaloosa, Ala., native played in all 24 games this season for the Lions, including 18 starts, and was the top freshman scorer (10.8 PPG) and rebounder (9.3 RPG) in the league. Her rebounding average ranks second in the conference and she is also second in the conference in shooting, hitting 59.2 percent of her shot attempts this year. She also posted 10 double-digit rebounding games and six double-doubles on the season.

Smesko captures his fourth-consecutive, and 11th overall, Coach of the Year accolade after leading his FGCU squad to an undefeated 16-0 mark in ASUN play and a fourth-straight regular-season title. The Eagles are currently ranked 21st in the USA Today Top-25 Coaches Poll, 24th in the Associated Press Top-25 Media Poll and are the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ASUN Championship for the fourth year in a row. FGCU's 22-game winning streak is the second-longest in the nation.

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The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation. As a nimble adaptive conference, unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams, and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams. Students First! Rise. Connect. Impact. #ASUNBuilt by Bellarmine (Louisville), Central Arkansas (Conway), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond), FGCU (Fort Myers), Jacksonville (Fla.), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville), North Alabama (Florence), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.).

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