Feb. 11, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky women’s basketball senior guard Bria Goss has been named to the Allstate Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Good Works Team, it was announced Tuesday.
The Allstate WBCA Good Works Teams® is comprised of 10 student-athletes; five from the NCAA® Division I and five from NCAA Divisions II, III and the NAIA. A total of 93 WBCA nominees were submitted by sports information directors across the nation on behalf of their colleges and universities. The final team rosters were chosen by prestigious voting panels comprised of former coaches, student-athletes and media members.
“The WBCA is extremely excited to continue its partnership with Allstate in showing appreciation for these student-athletes who take time to invest in and further their respective communities,” said WBCA executive director Danielle Donehew. “Congratulations to these outstanding 10 student-athletes who have helped make a difference and will continue to be leaders on and off the basketball court.”
Throughout her Wildcat career, Goss has been an active in the Lexington community, but in the summer of 2014, she took it to a different level, traveling to Ethiopia for a week-long service trip. Goss distributed necessities to victims of leprosy, accomplished minor home repairs to impoverished families, served food to prisoners, played games with orphans and spent a day building relationships with street boys. Additionally, Bria delivered beds and mattresses and bedding to several widows, most of whom had been sleeping on dirt floors on piles of straw.
Goss has also volunteered locally, packing lunches for underprivileged students in the Lexington school systems for God’s Pantry, and then hand-delivering them to schools. She has volunteered to stock clothes at Goodwill for countries with limited clothing and she helped make blankets for sick children at Kentucky Children’s Hospital.
Along with her community service, Goss has received academic awards in the classroom and is on track to graduate in May with a degree in communications. She was recently named to UK’s prestigious Society of Character which recognizes Wildcat student-athletes who have shown an extraordinary commitment to academic excellence, athletic participation, personal development, career preparation and serving as a role model.
“Bria is the epitome of what we want a Kentucky basketball player to be,” UK Hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “She is of the highest character, she has the greatest work ethic, she cares about people, she cares about this program, cares about Kentucky and cares about winning.”
On the court, the Indianapolis, Ind., native has been a fixture in the starting lineup for UK since her freshman season in 2011-12. The All-SEC selection has climbed to No. 18 on UK’s all-time scoring list with 1,200 career points and is third on the career free-throw percentage chart, hitting 81.8 percent (357-436) from the line. This season, Goss is averaging 8.3 points per game, including 10.0 ppg in league play.
The Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® will be recognized during the 2015 WBCA Convention and at the 2015 NCAA Women’s Final Four® in Tampa, and will also participate in a local community project benefitting the city. Allstate is also an official corporate partner of the NABC and WBCA.
This marks the second straight season a UK Hoops player has been named to the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team®. As Kastine Evans (Salem, Conn.) was one of the five Division I women’s basketball student-athletes chosen last year.
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