LA GRANDE, Ore. – Chelsey Christensen of Warner Pacific College has been named Cascade College Conference Player of the Year after a vote of the league’s coaches, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Christensen, a 5-foot-9 senior guard from West Linn, Ore., leads the CCC in scoring at 19.9 points per game and is the top free throw shooter, hitting on 87 percent (103-119) of her charity tosses. Her scoring average places her seventh-best in NAIA Division II women’s play. Christensen is also among the conference leaders in 3-point shooting percentage (2nd in CCC, 39.8 percent) and overall field goal percentage (5th, 50.8 percent). Christensen was also named CCC Red Lion Player of the Week during the season.
The Defensive Player of the Year award will be shared this season between The College of Idaho’s Katelin Shannon and Tara Vanweerdhuizen of Corban University. Shannon, a 5-foot-4 senior guard from Caldwell, Idaho, leads the CCC in steals at 2.9 thefts per contest. She also ranks second in C of I history in steals, second only to two-time CCC Defensive Player of the Year Nicole Gall. At 6-foot-2 Vanweerdhuizen uses her height to control the boards, leading the conference in total rebounding at 10 per game and is second in blocked shots at 2.8 per contest.
Two underclassmen were singled out for their achievements this season as coaches selected McKenna Daly of Concordia and Carly Meister from Southern Oregon as Co-Freshmen of the Year. Daly, a 6-foot-1 forward from Livermore, Calif., is averaging 1.3 blocks per game (6th) and is 16th in rebounding at 5.8 boards per game. Meister also stood tall in the coaches’ mind as the 6-foot-2 forward from Elma, Wash. lead the CCC with a 60 percent field goal percentage (93-155) and grabbed nearly three offensive rebounds per game.
In her thirteenth season Eastern Oregon University’s Anji Weissenfluh was selected the CCC’s Coach of the Year after leading the Mountaineer to their first-ever 30-win season that includes a school-record 25 game win streak. Her team also claimed the CCC regular-season title with a perfect 18-0 record and the CCC
Tournament title. The Mounties are currently ranked at a program-high third in the latest NAIA Division II coaches’ poll with the final poll to be released Wednesday afternoon.
Others named to the 12-person All-CCC team included College of Idaho’s Felicity Jones, Corban’s Emily Tsugawa, Eastern Oregon’s Brooke Randall and Kelsea Hurliman, Evergreen’s Danielle Swain, Lindsey Shearer of Northwest Christian, Kassi Conditt and Karissa Dixon of Oregon Tech, Southern Oregon’ s Melissa Sweat.
Eight players earned honorable mention All-CCC honors: Tess Bennett, Corban; Korrie Bourn, Eastern Oregon; Sammi Clark, Evergreen; Malori Dixon, Concordia; Laura Geis, College of Idaho; Allison Gida, Southern Oregon; Nichole Jackson, Warner Pacific; Alexi Smith, Southern Oregon.
2012-13 Cascade Collegiate Conference Red Lion All-Conference Team
Player of the Year: Chelsey Christensen, Warner Pacific
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Katelin Shannon, College of Idaho and Tara VanWeerdhuizen, Corban
Co-Freshmen of the Year: McKenna Daly, Concordia and Carly Meister, Southern Oregon
Coach of the Year: Anji Weissenfluh, Eastern Oregon
|
Name |
Institution |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
|
Chelsey Christensen |
Warner Pacific |
G |
5-9 |
Sr. |
West Linn, Ore. |
|
Kassi Conditt |
Oregon Tech |
P |
6-2 |
Jr. |
La Pine Ore. |
|
Karissa Dixon |
Oregon Tech |
G |
5-10 |
Jr. |
Medford, Ore. |
|
Kelsea Hurliman |
Eastern Oregon |
G |
5-4 |
Sr. |
Cloverdale, Ore. |
|
Felicity Jones |
College of Idaho |
G |
5-7 |
Sr. |
Tremonton, Utah |
|
Brooke Randall |
Eastern Oregon |
G |
5-7 |
Sr. |
Wenatchee, Wash. |
|
Katelin Shannon |
College of Idaho |
G |
5-4 |
Sr. |
Caldwell, Idaho |
|
Lindsey Shearer |
Northwest Christian |
F |
5-10 |
Sr. |
Oregon City, Ore. |
|
Danielle Swain |
Evergreen |
F |
6-0 |
Jr. |
Rainier, Ore. |
|
Melissa Sweat |
Southern Oregon |
G |
5-11 |
Jr. |
Bakersfield, Calif. |
|
Emily Tsugawa |
Corban |
G |
5-5 |
Sr. |
Oregon City, Ore. |
|
Tara VanWeerdhuizen |
Corban |
C |
6-2 |
So. |
Spokane, Wash. |
Honorable Mention: Tess Bennett, Corban; Korrie Bourn, Eastern Oregon; Sammi Clark, Evergreen; Malori Dixon, Concordia; Laura Geis, College of Idaho; Allison Gida, Southern Oregon; Nichole Jackson, Warner Pacific; Alexi Smith, Southern Oregon.