PacWest honors four; May named Coach of the Year

Three Grand Canyon players and head coach Trent May were honored by the Pacific West Conference, which released its All-PacWest women's basketball team Friday.

For the second straight season, May was named the league's coach of the year.

Grand Canyon won the league title for the third straight season and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004.

Junior point guard Rosalyn Nelson (pictured, upper right) was named first-team for the third straight year and sophomore guard Samantha Murphy was a repeat first-teamer. Junior Stacy Haddow was selected to the second team.

"We faced a lot of adversity and a lot of ups and downs," said May of the season that saw the Lopes battle numerous injuries to key players, but still reach goals of a conference title and NCAA berth.

"(They) were focused when it mattered most and that's a credit to the girls," he said. "When it looked bleak and when they could have looked for excuses -- and they were there -- they didn't use them."

It was Nelson's third first-team selection. She missed the team's final eight games due to a knee injury. When she left, she was leading the conference in steals and assists. During the season, she became the school's all-time assist leader and only the second Lady Lope to reach 1,000 career points. She came into the season already the all-time leader in steals.

Nelson averaged 15.5 points, 4.9 assists and 3.8 steals.

Murphy missed the team's first seven games, but ended up its leading scorer averaging 19.2 points per game. She combined with Nelson to be the league's most dangerous backcourt. Unfortunately for GCU, the two were only able to play 13 games together.

Murphy (pictured, left) finished second in the league in scoring, field goal percentage (.504) and free-throw percentage (.829). She scored 30 points or more five times, including a career-high 33 on Feb. 14 against NDNU. She tied a school record that game with 16 made free throws.

Junior Haddow (pictured, lower right) had her most productive season in the Grand Canyon purple and black. When Nelson went down with an injury, she immediately stepped up with a career-high 27 points, including seven 3-pointers, in a win over BYU-Hawaii.

Haddow was already having a solid season prior to the big night in Hawaii. She finished the year averaging 11.6 points per game and a team-best 6.3 rebounds. She finished second in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.371).

Along with injuries to Murphy and Nelson, GCU played most of the season without forward Ashley Hardin, who was the PacWest Newcomer of the Year in 2008 and a preseason all-league selection. She was averaging 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds before going down with a season-ending injury.

Nelson, Murphy and Hardin, the team's most heralded players, did not play one game together. Still, GCU was able to reach its goals for 2008-09.

"We didn't end with the record we wanted but we reached our goals," added May. "I'm proud of the team and proud of their accomplishments."

FINAL SEASON STATS

2008-09 ALL-PACWEST TEAM
Latoya Wily, BYU-Hawaii - Player of the Year
Mana Hopkins, Hawai'i Pacific - Freshman of the Year
Tiffany Wilson, Hawai'i Pacific - Newcomer of the Year
Trent May, Grand Canyon - Coach of the Year

FIRST TEAM
Latoya Wily, BYU-Hawaii
Samantha Murphy, Grand Canyon
Rosalyn Nelson, Grand Canyon
Sheila Azevedo, Hawai'i Hilo
Britni Rathke, NDNU
Tiffany Wilson, Hawai'i Pacific
Deney Phommabout, Dixie State

SECOND TEAM
Tanya Clark, Dixie State
Tanaia Keyes, NDNU
Mana Hopkins, Hawai'i Pacific
Courtney Boyd, Dixie State
Paris Gravely, Hawai'i Pacific
Shanae Vaifanua, Dixie State
Stacy Haddow, Grand Canyon

HONORABLE MENTION
Richelle Fenebock, BYU-Hawaii
Mahina Gago, BYU-Hawaii
Jasmine Dulan, Chaminade
Samantha Saito, Chaminade
Jessie Ingraham, Dixie State
Amanda Adams, Hawai'i Hilo
Jessica Hanato, Hawai'i Hilo
Nesha Ann Kimitete, Hawai'i Hilo
Taylor Craig, Hawai'i Pacific
Jennifer Dreessen, NDNU

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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