SIAC announces women’s basketball yearly honourees

Courtesy of the SIAC

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) has announced its annual women’s basketball awards presented by TIAA to conclude the 2021-2022 regular season. This year’s all-conference teams, which ten fifteen student-athletes, were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
 
Tuskegee’s forward, Ashiala Jackson, leads the 2022 SIAC Women’s Basketball All-Conference team as the 2022 SIAC Player of the Year.
 
Clark Atlanta’s Corriana Evans garnished this year’s Newcomer of the Year award, while Imani Williams of Miles College captured the SIAC Freshman of the Year award. 
 
JuToreyia Willis of Tuskegee earned this year’s SIAC’s Defensive Player of the Year honor for the league. Cedric Baker, Savannah State head women’s basketball coach, has earned the 2022 SIAC Coach of the Year award. 

Player of the Year
Ashiala Jackson, Tuskegee

Jackson led the conference and the Golden Tigers in scoring averaging 19.9 points per game shooting 50.3 percent from the field during the regular season to clinch the SIAC Western Division title with 15-3 mark. The Merrillville, Indiana native also averaged 10.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.

Defensive Player of the Year
JuToreyia Willis, Tuskegee

Tuskegee’s senior guard, JuToreyia Willis, has been named SIAC Women’s Defensive Player of the Year. Willis, a native of Chattanooga, TN, collected 23 blocks this season and averaged 6.5 rebounds on the season. The 5’11 guard also averaged 14.9 points for the Golden Tigers.

Newcomer of the Year
Corriana Evans, Clark Atlanta

Evans of Clark Atlanta has earned this year’s Newcomer of the Year award after leading the Panthers with 8.2 rebounds per game. The Griffin, Ga. native averaged 14.5 points for the Panthers and connected on 65.4 percent of her free-throws from the charity line.

Freshman of the Year
Imani Williams, Miles

Rookie forward Imani Williams of Miles College has garnered this year’s Freshman of the Year award. Williams, in her first year with the Golden Bears, averaged 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Coach of the Year
Cedric Baker, Savannah State

In his 19th season with the Tigers, Coach Cedric Baker earned the 2022 SIAC Coach of the Year award leading his team to an almost perfect conference record (14-1), with only one loss on the season. In the Tigers’ second postseason appearance since joining the league, Coach Baker led his team to the top of the Eastern Division.

Benedict (Ay’Anna Bey, Ayanna Armstead, and Keondra Archie) placed three on the 2021-22 all-conference team. Tuskegee (Ashiala Jackson and JuToreyia Willis), Savannah State (Bria Gibbs and Le’Andrea Gillis), and Clark Atlanta (Reagan Jackson and  Corriana Evans) each had two honorees on this year’s team. Lane’s Kayla Simmons rounded out this year’s selections.

In its inaugural season, the Elite 14 award recognized the student-athlete who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the SIAC championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Breah McGrady of Miles was the first recipient of this award in her respective sport.

(complete team listed below)

2022 SIAC Women’s Basketball All-Conference Teams

First Team

Second Team