Cassidy Sanders-Curry became the first Stanislaus State women's basketball standout to get an All-Conference First-Team nod as the senior led a list of four Warriors on the 2016-17 Women's Basketball All-CCAA teams.
Sanders-Curry, who was a second-team pick a year ago, is the first Warrior to receive First-Team honors since Katie Busi earned the award following the 2010-11 season.
Reana Hardin was a second team selection while Ana Burch and Riley Holladay are both honorable mention, as announced by the California Collegiate Athletic Association Thursday night at the award banquet ahead of the semifinal contests at Cal State San Marcos.
Sanders-Curry, a strong player of the year candidate, led all CCAA players in scoring average during conference games with a 16.6 points per game total. She was also fifth in rebounds at 8.3 and second in steals at 2.2 per game. The senior from San Jose is also eighth in blocked shots (0.9) and was third in field goal percentage (.421), making her a great all-around player.
During the 2016-17 campaign, Sanders-Curry had 24 double-digit scoring games, including 17 points in the first-round game against Cal State L.A. She is just the fifth Warrior to ever score 1,000-plus points in a career.
Hardin was second on the team in scoring with 12.6 points per game and made the second most three-pointers with 34. Burch (10.4 ppg) led the Warriors with 37 triples while topping the team with 61 steals. Holladay averaged 7.8 points a game with 6.7 rebounds while leading the team with 88 assists.
Shomari Harris of Cal State East Bay was voted the player of the year and the freshman of the year award went to Humboldt State's Tyra Turner. UC San Diego coach Heidi VanDerveer is the coach of the year and Triton Dalayna Sampton is the newcomer of the year.
Tritons end Warriors’ season in CCAA semifinals
After making Stan State history on Tuesday, the Warriors were unable to continue their reign in the second round of playoffs. The Stanislaus State women's basketball team's season was ended by UC San Diego, losing 82-67 at The Sports Center on Friday afternoon.
Cassidy Sanders-Curry led the team in her final game as a Warrior with 17 points and eight rebounds. Ana Burch scored 14 points and Reana Hardin and Lizzy Alexander each had nine points. Riley Holladay added seven rebounds for the Warriors, and Hardin caught five.
Sanders-Curry, who earned All-CCAA First Team honors Thursday night, finished her Stanislaus career with 1,048 points. She is just the fifth Warrior to ever surpass the 1,000-point milestone.
The Foundation Four led the Warriors to the program's first postseason victory since 1990 on Tuesday. Burch ended her four-year career with 919 points, Holladay tallied 867 and Reana Hardin scored 689 points in three seasons.
Stan State started the game with a three-pointer by Hardin, then quickly fell behind as the Tritons banked a series of shots taking a 12-3 lead. The Warriors tightened the gap in the second quarter at 23-27 before a series of layups gave UC San Diego a 39-28 lead heading into half time. As the Tritons continued to bank their free throws and widen the point difference in the second half, Stan State could no longer work their way back into the game.
Stanislaus’ Faniel picks up All-CCAA honorable mention
The 2016-17 CCAA Men's Basketball All-Conference teams were announced by the California Collegiate Athletic Association Thursday night at the awards banquet during the eve of the semifinal games at Cal State San Marcos.
Warrior senior Vondel Faniel received honorable mention, in a vote of the CCAA's head coaches.
Faniel led the Warriors in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He had recorded eight double-doubles with 17 double-digits games during the season. He capped off his career with a personal best 27-point game at Cal State East Bay last Saturday.
Faniel, who is from Palmdale, continues the string of Stan State men's basketball student-athletes being recogized on the All-CCAA teams for the seventh consecutive season.
