MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — The 2021-22 All-River States Conference Women’s Basketball Teams & Awards were released today at RiverStatesConference.com. University of Rio Grande (Ohio) took the spotlight with junior guard/forward Ella Skeens and RedStorm head coach Dave Smalley sweeping all the big, individual awards.
Skeens, a 5-11 native of Chillicothe, Ohio, was voted as the RSC Player of the Year and also the RSC Newcomer of the Year. A transfer from Ball State, she led the overall voting and was the top player new to the conference this year. She averaged 18.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, and 77 percent at the foul line.
Smalley, in his 30th year as Rio Grande head coach, was voted RSC Coach of the Year by his peers. He has led the Red Storm to a No. 20 national ranking in the NAIA Top 25 and a record of 30-2 overall and 16-1 RSC. Rio Grande has already clinched a spot in the NAIA National Championship as RSC Regular Season and RSC East Division champs and is hosting the RSC Championship finals.
The All-RSC Women’s Basketball First & Second Teams feature 10 players each. The selections were made with voting from the 13 head coaches in the RSC. Also named was the RSC Women’s Basketball Champions of Character Team with one player from each school named for best representing the NAIA five-character values of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership, and sportsmanship. For Alice Lloyd, Ali May received this honor.
Joining Skeens on the All-RSC First Team was teammate Hailey Jordan, a junior guard/forward. IU East was the only other school to get two players on the first team with guards Addie Brown and Kami McEldowney.
WVU Tech senior guard Brittney Justice came in second in the voting overall, and Midway (Ky.) University junior guard Dezeree White came in third. Justice has been tearing up the RSC for five years, and White made a big impact as a newcomer to Midway this year.
The first team also included RSC veterans in Point Park (Pa.) University senior guard Michelle Burns, IU Kokomo senior forward Tia Chambers, Ohio Christian University junior center Rachel Gillum and Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College senior guard Haley Hall.
The All-RSC Second Team had 10 players from eight different schools with Rio Grande and IU Southeast getting two selections each.