2012-13 AUS Women's Basketball Awards and All-Stars Announced

SMU's Colley named AUS most valuable player

(FREDERICTON, N.B.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2012-13 AUS women's basketball all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's eight head coaches following regular season play.

Fourth-year Saint Mary's Huskies guard Justine Colley was named the Atlantic University Sport most valuable player, Thursday night.

Other AUS major award winners announced during the awards banquet at the Fredericton Inn in Fredericton, N.B., were Cape Breton's Colleen Keane of North York, Ont., who was named rookie of the year; Memorial's Ally Forsey of St. John's, Nfld., who was selected as the defensive player of the year; UNB's Laura Fowler of Moncton, N.B., who is the AUS Tracy MacLeod Award Nominee; Acadia's Lindsay Harris who is the AUS student-athlete community service award recipient and Saint Mary's head coach Scott Munro, who was named the AUS coach of the year.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Justine Colley, Saint Mary's

Justine Colley, a 5-foot-9, fourth-year guard with the CIS No. 4-ranked Saint Mary's Huskies, is the Atlantic University Sport women's basketball most valuable player.

A native of East Preston, N.S., Colley led the Atlantic conference and the nation in scoring for the third consecutive season. Her average of 28.2 points per contest was 7.7 points per game more than any other player in the country and her CIS-leading 565 total points scored established a new AUS single-season mark.

Justine, now a first-team AUS all-star in each of her four seasons with the Huskies, also led the country in steals (78), field-goals made (194) and free-throws made (141). Her 4.2 assists per game and 3.9 steals per game led the Atlantic conference and her 7.5 rebounds per game average ranked seventh in the AUS.

In just four seasons with the Huskies, Colley has already set a new Saint Mary's school record for career points scored and with 1,961 career points, she now ranks third on the AUS all-time scoring list.

Saint Mary's finished in first place this season with an 18-2 regular season record. Justine recorded five double-doubles and scored 30 or more points in 11 of SMU's 20 games.

"Justine has had a tremendous, record-breaking season for the Huskies," said Saint Mary's head coach Scott Munro. "Scoring is only part of the package however, as she has an impact on the game every time she plays, in so many other areas. She was among the league leaders in rebounding and field goal percentage, while leading the league in both steals and assists. Justine has great work ethic every single day at practice and is always focused on trying to get better, which has helped her get to this level. She has certainly raised the bar this season and is a very worthy recipient of this year's most valuable player award."

Colley becomes just the third Saint Mary's player to win the AUS most valuable player award, joining Julie Galipeau and Jadranka Crnogorac, who took the top prize in the conference in 2000-01 and 1997-98 respectively.

Justine will look to become the first ever Atlantic University Sport women's basketball player to take home the Nan Copp Award as the CIS player of the year.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Colleen Keane, Cape Breton

Keane, a native of North York, Ont., is the third player from the Capers to claim the AUS rookie of the year award. Amanda Fisher (1998-99) and Janice Moseychuck (1994-95) are the only other CBU players to have won this award.

The 5-foot-9 forward has made an immediate impact with the Capers, starting in 19-of-20 games and finishing third in team scoring with an average of 8.6 points per game.

Colleen's 81.8 free-throw percentage this season ranked third overall in the AUS conference this season.

"Colleen has been a steady contributor for us this year, playing major minutes in her first year and establishing herself as a bright spot in a young Capers lineup," comments Cape Breton head coach Fabian McKenzie. "Colleen has showed great poise as a rookie and, as a first-year player in the AUS, she has already displayed very good leadership skills which will help our program in the future."

Keane will now represent the conference next week in Regina as the AUS nominee for the Kathy Shields Award.

Vanessa Pickard of StFX (2011-12) and Claire Colborne of UNB (2010-11) are the most recent AUS players to win the CIS rookie of the year award.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ally Forsey, Memorial

Fifth-year Arts student Ally Forsey of the Memorial Sea-Hawks is the 2012-13 AUS defensive player of the year.

A native of St. John's, Nfld., Ally averaged 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a senior and led the AUS conference in blocked shots with 1.9 per game.

"I am overjoyed that the coaches saw it fit to recognize Ally's contributions to our team defensively," says Memorial head coach Doug Partridge. "She is a tremendous shot blocker and help side defender that allows us to be competitive on a nightly basis."

Forsey is the fifth Memorial player to be recognized as the women's basketball AUS defensive player of the year since the inception of this award following the 2000-01 season. Katherine Quackenbush (2008-07 and 2005-06), Joanne McNeil (2003-04), Jenine Browne (2002-03) and Melissa Skanes (2001-02) are the previous Sea-Hawks players to receive this award.

No Atlantic University Sport player has yet been named the CIS defensive player of the year.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Scott Munro, Saint Mary's

Saint Mary's Huskies head coach Scott Munro is the Atlantic University Sport women's basketball coach of the year, marking the first time a Saint Mary's women's basketball coach has been honoured with this award since 1997-98 when Jill Healy was selected as the conference's top coach.

Munro, now in his fifth season at the helm of the Huskies program, guided Saint Mary's (currently ranked No. 4 in CIS) to a first place finish with an 18-2 regular season record this year, including an impressive 16-game winning streak to open the season.

His Huskies team led the conference in scoring (76.5 points per game) while allowing a league-low 63.7 points against. This year's total of 18 wins is the most ever in the history of the Saint Mary's women's basketball program.

Saint Mary's, which includes Justine Colley, the all-time leading scorer in school history, has been ranked in the top 5 of every CIS top 10 women's basketball poll this season.

Scott is a NCCP level three certified coach and has led the Nova Scotia provincial team nine times on both the men's and women's side as head coach. He was the head coach for Nova Scotia in the 2005 Canada Summer games, leading Nova Scotia to its first medal in 29 years and also led Nova Scotia's entry in the 2009 Games in Charlottetown PEI..

"Scott has a history of producing winners and this year is another example of his ability to bring the best out in his players on the court each game," says Dr. David Murphy, Director of Athletics at Saint Mary's. "He understands the importance of academics and the balance of being the best student-athlete. Saint Mary's is extremely proud of his achievements."

CBU head coach Fabian McKenzie is the last Atlantic University Sport coach to be named CIS coach of the year (2005-06).

TRACY MACLEOD AWARD NOMINEE: Laura Fowler, UNB

Fowler, a fifth-year guard in playing in her third year of eligibility from Moncton, N.B., is the 2012-13 Atlantic University Sport nominee for the Tracy MacLeod Award.

This award rewards a women's basketball player who demonstrates determination, perseverance and unwavering spirit to continue playing the game of basketball and is the AUS nominee for the CIS Sylvia Sweeney Award.

It is very impressive that Laura even stepped onto the court this season, let alone played in 20 games, including 10 regular season contests.

In her first season, she tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee in mid-November, which ended her season prematurely. After battling back through setbacks to play a relatively healthy and productive second and third season with the Varsity Reds, she tore the ACL in her left knee in the summer prior to her fourth season, forcing her to the sidelines for another full year.

This season, she has battled through a stress fracture in her right ankle as well as a concussion to start in nine of the 10 regular season games she appeared in. Laura averaged 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, shooting 31.4 percent from the floor and 26.7 percent from three-point range.

"Laura is one of the toughest student-athletes I have ever coached; both mentally and physically," says UNB head coach Jeff Speedy. "She has made the best of a very difficult few years. She is a leader and no one works harder on the court than she does. Being the Tracey MacLeod Award nominee for the AUS is a great honour for Laura and is well deserved."

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Lindsay Harris, Acadia

Fourth-year Acadia Axewomen guard Lindsay Harris is the 2013 recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award.

A native of New Minas, N.S., Harris played in 17 games for the Axewomen this season, averaging 16.2 points per contest, ranking her seventh in AUS scoring.

A co-captain with her squad in each of the past three seasons, she also finished fifth in rebounding (7.9 per game), sixth in field-goal percentage (44.5 per cent) and was also recognized as a first team all-star this season.

A perennial Academic all-Canadian with a GPA of 3.56, Harris was Acadia's 2012 nominee for the AUS James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award.

Lindsay, an executive member of the Acadia Player's Association, has donated countless hours in the community with Associations such as the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Wolfville community breakfast program and the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board anti-bullying campaign.

"Occasionally we are privileged to be involved with unusually distinguished individuals, young people who it is clear will go on to do great things because of the quality of their character, their work ethic, and their dedication to team values. Lindsay Harris is one such person," says Acadia head coach Bev Greenlaw. "She is a leader on and off the court, and she is also one of the mentally and physically toughest and most unselfish human beings I have ever been fortunate enough to coach. She is truly an inspiring young woman to be around."

FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

The Atlantic University Sport first and second team all-stars were also announced Thursday, along with this year's all-rookie team.

First Team All-Stars:
Justine Colley, Saint Mary's (4th year – East Preston, N.S.)
Lia St. Pierre, StFX (4th year – Moncton, N.B.)
Lindsay Harris, Acadia (4th year – New Minas, N.S.)
Keisha Brown, Dalhousie (4th year – Halifax, N.S.)
Grace Fishbein, Memorial (5th year – Waterloo, Ont.)

Second Team All-Stars:
Laura Langille, Saint Mary's (2nd year – Bedford, N.S.)
Kristy Moore, Acadia (3rd year – Shad Bay, N.S.)
Anna von Maltzahn, Dalhousie (4th year – Halifax, N.S.)
Kolbi Roper, StFX (2nd year – North Vancouver, B.C.)
Tanira McClurkin, Cape Breton (4th year – Baltimore, Maryland)

All-Rookie Team:
Colleen Keane, Cape Breton (North York, Ont.)
Sandra Amoah, Memorial (Toronto, Ont.)
Angelina Carvery, Saint Mary's (Halifax, N.S.)
Lindsay Lessard, StFX (Waterloo, Ont.)
Katelyn Mangold, UNB (Peterborough, Ont.)

The 2013 Subway Atlantic University Sport women's basketball championship gets under way this weekend at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, N.B., Live webcasts of all five games of the championship will be available at www.AUStv.ca.

The winner will be crowned AUS champions and will advance to the 2013 CIS women's basketball championship, March 15-17, hosted by the University of Regina.

For more information on the CIS championship format, visit http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb/index.

The 2013 Subway Atlantic University Sport women's basketball championship schedule is as follows:

Friday, March 8
Quarter-final #1: Dalhousie (4th) vs. Memorial (5th), 6:00pm
Quarter-final #2: Acadia (3rd) vs. UNB (6th), 8:00pm

Saturday, March 9
Semifinal #1: Saint Mary's (1st) vs. Winner of Quarter-final #1, 6:00pm
Semifinal #2: StFX (2nd) vs. Winner of Quarter-final #2, 8:00pm

Sunday, March 10
Championship Game: Semifinal Winners, 2:00pm