Program, League-Best Eight Lady Bulldogs Named To SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Mississippi State University women’s basketball team placed a program and league-best eight student-athletes on the 2008 Southeastern Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll, as announced by the league office in Birmingham today. Senior Amy Reeder and juniors Robin Porter, Marneshia Richard and Lauren Roberts earned the honor for the third consecutive year.
Senior Miayorka Johnson and sophomore Bethany Washington were named to the team for the second straight year, while senior Imesia Jackson and sophomore Carrie Landers were named for the first time.
A native of Pontotoc, Miss., Reeder has received the Newsom Academic Award the past two seasons, an annual award given to the top MSU student-athlete in each sport. The fitness management major saw action in 19 games this season.
Porter, a clinical exercise physiology major from Abbeville, Ala., saw action in all 31 games this past season, starting in 28 of those. She ended her junior campaign averaging 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.
Richard, a civil engineering major from Lamar, Miss., played in 30 games this season. Starting in all 30 of those games, Richard broke the junior single season record for assists with 138. She ended the season averaging 9.8 points per game, while shooting 77.5 percent from the free throw line.
Earlier this season, Richard was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Second Team. She has been named to the Dean's List every semester at MSU and received the Robert H. Wood Civil Engineering Scholarship. Richard is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and MClub, MState's student-athlete community service organization. She was also Mississippi State's nominee for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 SEC Women's Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Roberts, a marketing major from Collierville, Tenn., played 15 contests this season. Johnson, an educational psychology major from Ripley, Miss., saw action in 20 contests this past year.
Jackson, a local product from Crawford, finished her senior campaign with 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Landers a walk-on from Paragould, Ark., saw limited action throughout the year.
Amongst women’s basketball programs in the league, MSU led the way with eight selections. Georgia and Kentucky placed five each, while South Carolina and Alabama added four. Tennessee added three, while Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi and Vanderbilt had two recipients each. The 2007-08 SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll is based on grades from the 2007 spring, summer and fall terms.
In Sharon Fanning's 13 seasons at the helm of the program, a total of 60 student-athletes have earned SEC Academic Honor Roll honors.
The 2008 SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll will be announced later this year.