Feb. 29, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – On Sunday, the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team won its first Southeastern Conference Championship since 1982. On Tuesday, the SEC coaches honored three Wildcats for their part in helping make that possible. Junior guard A’dia Mathies was named SEC Player of the Year, freshman guard Bria Goss was named SEC Freshman of the Year and senior guard Keyla Snowden was named SEC Co-6th Woman of the Year. Mathies was also named to the All-SEC first team and the SEC All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season.
Mathies is UK’s second SEC Player of the Year as voted by the league coaches, joining former Wildcat great Victoria Dunlap, who earned the honor in 2010. Goss is the second SEC Freshman of the Year in school history, joining Mathies on the elite list. Mathies was named the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2010. Overall, this marks the ninth consecutive season UK has had at least one player selected to the All-SEC teams, and the third consecutive season a freshman has been named to the All-Freshman team.
Mathies leads the Wildcats in scoring (15.3 points per game), 3-point field goals made (44), 3-point field goal percentage (.370) and steals (2.7 steals per game). The Louisville, Ky., native is second on the team in rebounds (5.3 rebounds per game) and assists (2.6 assists per game), and is tied for second in blocks (18).
Amongst her SEC peers, Mathies is second in the league in scoring, second in steals, third in 3-point field goal percentage, tied for eighth in 3-point field goals made and 11th in offensive rebounds. Mathies has reached double figures in scoring in every game but six this season, and has 10 games of 20 or more points. Her best game of the season came against Tennessee as she poured in a career-high 34 points and hit the game-winning basket with less than five seconds left to snap Tennessee’s 36-game SEC winning streak. Mathies’ 34 points were the most points scored by a Wildcat since 1987.
In addition to being named the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2010, Mathies was an All-SEC second team and SEC All-Defensive Team selection in 2011.
Goss becomes Kentucky’s second SEC Freshman of the Year in three years, while also being named to the All-Freshmen team. The Indianapolis native was second on the team in scoring and first in the SEC among freshmen, averaging 11.6 points per game. Goss was also a consistent scorer, reaching double figures in scoring in 21 of 29 games. The freshman star shot the ball well from beyond the arc, ranking ninth in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage (.337), and also got to the foul line well, making 76 of her 105 free-throw attempts (.724), the seventh best clip in the league. A fearless defender, Goss also took a team-high 18 charges.
In the UK freshman record books, Goss is on pace to have the sixth highest scoring average and already has the fourth most double-figure scoring games. She is tied for the fifth most 3-pointers made.
One day after being named to the SEC Community Service Team, Snowden was named the SEC Co-6th Woman of the Year. Snowden shares the honor with Deana Allen of Florida. Snowden is the Wildcats’ third leading scorer with 8.9 points per game. The Lexington, Ky., native is 10th in the SEC in 3-point field goals made (43), and 11th in 3-point field goal percentage (.331). In SEC play, Snowden has been clutch from the foul line, making 34 of 40 attempts (.850), the second best mark in the SEC.
Together, the trio helped lead Kentucky to its first SEC regular season championship since 1982 behind a 24-5 record and program-best 13 wins in conference play. Kentucky defeated a program-record tying five ranked teams, including three top-10 teams.
Mathies, Goss, Snowden and the rest of the No.10/9 Kentucky Wildcats will play again Friday at 1 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. UK will play the winner of the first round matchup between Florida and Auburn. The Wildcats swept the regular season series against Florida this year, and defeated Auburn in their only matchup of the season.
First Team All-SEC
C’eira Ricketts, Arkansas
Jennifer George, Florida
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
LaSondra Barrett, LSU
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
Shekinna Stricklen, Tennessee
Christina Foggie, Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Sarah Watkins, Arkansas
Jasmine Hassell, Georgia
La’Keisha Sutton, South Carolina
Jasmine Lister, Vanderbilt
Tiffany Clarke, Vanderbilt
Ieasia Walker, South Carolina
Markeshia Grant, South Carolina
Valencia McFarland, Ole Miss
Diamber Johnson, Mississippi State
All-Freshman Team
Calli Berna, Arkansas
Hasina Muhammad, Auburn
Erika Ford, Georgia
Bria Goss, Kentucky
Martha Alwal, Mississippi State
Aleighsa Welch, South Carolina
Ariel Massengale, Tennessee
Kady Schrann, Vanderbilt
All-Defensive Team
Anne Marie Armstrong, Georgia
Porsha Porter, Mississippi State
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
La’Keisha Sutton, South Carolina
Coach of the Year
Tom Collen, Arkansas
Player of the Year
A’dia Mathies, Kentucky
Freshman of the Year
Bria Goss, Kentucky
Defensive Player of the Year
Glory Johnson, Tennessee
6th Woman of the Year
Deana Allen, Florida
Keyla Snowden, Kentucky
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Blanche Alverson, Auburn
