2011-12 OUA women's basketball West Division major award winner and all-stars announced

Photo credit Edwin Tam / Source: OUA Communications

HAMILTON, Ont. – As defending champion and boasting the best record in the league, the Windsor Lancers have earned two-thirds of the major awards as Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announces the west division all-stars and major award winners.

Third-year forward Jessica Clemencon (St. Rambert, France) continues to be voted the top player and takes home her second consecutive Player of the Year award. Clemencon finished the year with 387 points and third overall with an average of 17.59 points per game. She was efficient in reaching these totals, posting a 53.1 field goal percentage and also converting 82 percent of her free throws, which put her second in the league in both categories. Clemencon has also been named a First-Team All-Star.

Lancer teammate and fellow third-year player Miah-Marie Langlois (Windsor, Ont.) has been named the Defensive Player of the Year. Despite being one of the shortest players on the squad, Langlois led Windsor with 115 defensive rebounds which ranked her eighth in OUA. She was a thorn in her opposition’s side all year, swiping 77 steals to lead the league. Langlois has also been named a First-Team All-Star.

For the second straight season the Rookie of the Year award belongs to a Laurier Golden Hawk. Forward Shelby Kurt (Waterloo, Ont.) is this year’s recipient after racking up 233 points in her freshman season. The 6-foot-1 rookie was able to use her size to create several mismatches down low but could also knock down the outside shots, draining 25 three-pointers. Kurt has also been named to the All-Rookie team.

The Joy Bellinger Award is presented annually to a female student-athlete in recognition of outstanding service to the sport and to the advancement of university athletics. This year’s winner is Lakehead’s Lindsay Druery (Smithville, Ont.). The Thunderwolves’ captain has excelled both in the classroom, where she maintains her honours distinction in kinesiology, and on the court. Druery finishes her career sixth all-time in OUA rebounds with 828. The fifth-year veteran stays active in the Thunder Bay community as well, volunteering with the Children’s Aid Society as a recreation buddy, with the Thunder Bay Boys and Girls Club, and also gives back to the local basketball community, helping the Thunder Bay Wolves basketball club. Druery has also been named a Second-Team All-Star.

This year’s Tracy McLeod Award, presented in recognition of determination, perseverance and unwavering spirit, goes to Windsor’s Laura Mullins (Windsor, Ont.). After a breakout rookie season in 2007-08, Mullins had to watch from the bench as the Lancers won their first OUA championship after suffering an ACL and MCL tear. She returned to action in her third year and battled through an injury to the same knee to help Windsor win their second straight title. Mullins was sidelined once more, after an off-season injury eliminated her from the 2010-11 campaign. Set to return for her final year, she was diagnosed with a blood clot behind the same knee and was told she may not be able to return. However, in September she finally received clearance to play and has been instrumental in the Lancers’ success this season, posting the league’s second best three-point field goal percentage at 43.7 percent.

For the third time in the past four seasons, Windsor’s Chantal Vallee has been named the Coach of the Year. Vallee’s Lancers finished atop the west standings for the fourth consecutive year and have been ranked No. 2 in the country for 11 of 13 weeks. Earlier this season Vallee surpassed a milestone, earning her 100th win as a coach in the CIS.

Accompanying Clemencon and Langlois as First-Team All-Stars include two players who move up from last year’s Second-Team. McMaster’s Taylor Chiarot (Hamilton, Ont.) earns her first First-Team appearance this year after a strong campaign at both ends of the floor. Chiarot tallied 364 points and finished fifth with an average of 16.55 points per game. Those points helped her crack the OUA records list and she finishes thirteenth in all-time scoring with 1,289 points. The fifth-year senior also grabbed 126 defensive rebounds and posted 22 blocks. Also moving up to the First-Team this year is Jenny Vaughan (Dundas, Ont.) of the Western Mustangs. The third-year guard finished eighth in league scoring and also got her teammates involved; totaling 83 assists to finish fifth with 3.77 assists per game.

Brock’s Nicole Rosenkranz (Niagara Falls, Ont.) rounds out the list of First-Team All-Stars. The third-year forward finished eighth with 177 total rebounds and second with 28 blocks. Rosenkranz also dropped 285 points to help lead the Badgers to 15 wins, the most in five seasons, and a second place finish in the west.

Joining Druery on the Second-Team is Laurier’s Felicia Mazerolle (Elliot Lake, Ont.). The sophomore guard finished with 210 points and helped break down the opposing defence for her teammates, distributing a fourth-best 3.94 assists per game. She also finished tops in the league with an 85.3 free throw percentage. Windsor’s Bojana Kovacevic (Windsor, Ont.) earns her first all-star nod on the Second-Team after posting a sixth-best 45.7 field goal percentage en route to 251 points.

Jasmine Douglas (Guelph, Ont.) of the Guelph Gryphons earns her place on the Second-Team after leading the league in rebounds per game. The fourth-year centre finished the season with 216 rebounds and led the league with 39 blocks. Western’s Laura Dally (Bright’s Grove, Ont.) completes this year’s Second-Team. The sophomore forward drained 38 three-pointers to finish seventh in the league and was a pivotal part of the Mustangs’ drive to the post-season.

Joining Shelby Kurt on the All-Rookie team is Kayla Santilli (Brantford, Ont.) from Brock, Marti Killeen (Oakville, Ont.) from Waterloo, Annabel Hancock (Ingersoll, Ont.) from Western, and Kate MacTavish (Waterloo, Ont.) from Guelph. Santilli finished her first campaign with 173 points and played significant minutes for the second-place Badgers. The Warriors’ Killeen compiled 170 points to finish second on her team while Annabel Hancock of the Mustangs tallied 117 points and shot 50 percent from behind the arc. Kate MacTavish netted 111 points and also collected 85 rebounds in her freshman season.

2011-12 OUA WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

Player of the Year: Jessica Clemencon – Windsor
Rookie of the Year: Shelby Kurt – Laurier
Defensive Player of the Year: Miah-Marie Langlois – Windsor
Joy Bellinger Award: Lindsay Druery – Lakehead
Tracy McLeod Award: Laura Mullins – Windsor
Coach of the Year: Chantal Vallee – Windsor

2011-12 OUA WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-STARS

First-Team
Jessica Clemencon – Windsor
Miah Marie-Langlois – Windsor
Taylor Chiarot – McMaster
Nicole Rosenkranz – Brock
Jenny Vaughan – Western

Second-Team
Felicia Mazerolle – Laurier
Lindsay Druery – Lakehead
Bojana Kovacevic – Windsor
Jasmine Douglas – Guelph
Laura Dally – Western

All-Rookie Team
Shelby Kurt – Laurier
Kayla Santilli – Brock
Marti Killeen – Waterloo
Annabel Hancock – Western
Kate MacTavish – Guelph

-OUA-