KERRVILLE, Texas – In exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), senior forward Abby Holland of Trinity University earned SCAC Women’s Basketball Player-of-the-Year honors, while head coaches Sam Davidson of Schreiner University and Cameron Hill of Trinity University were named the league’s Co-Coaches-of-the-Year. Complete Release

In that same balloting, Schreiner University freshman guard Zahra Cross was selected the conference Newcomer-of-the-Year and University of St. Thomas senior forward Jazz Taylor was named SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

A three-time SCAC Player-of-the-Week selection, Holland is currently among the league leaders in several statistical categories despite finishing outside the top 15 in minutes played. She is currently third in the SCAC in scoring (18.5 points per game), second in field goal percentage (53.1 percent), second in steals (76), second in field goals made (197) and is tied for ninth in rebounding (6.6 per game). Holland reached the 20-point plateau 11 different times this season and has recorded five double-doubles heading into the SCAC Tournament. This season, the senior moved into second place all-time on Trinity’s scoring charts and currently sits in 11th in SCAC history with 1,628 career points. Additionally, she is just the sixth student-athlete in SCAC Women’s Basketball history to score at least 1,600 points and grab 600 career rebounds. Defensively, Holland is sixth all-time with 277 career steals and ranks in the top five in steals average (2.66 steals per game) at fifth. A three-time first team all-SCAC performer, Holland’s selection as POTY marks the sixth time in the last eight years and eighth time overall a Trinity student-athlete has won or shared the honor. 

Holland received five votes from the coaches in the Player-of-the-Year balloting while St. Thomas senior guard Sheridan Hopkins received three. Colorado College junior forward McKenzee Gertz and Southwestern senior center Cecily Woolfolk received one vote each.

Cross of Schreiner led the Mountaineers in scoring (11.5 points per game) and was tops among first-year players in conference scoring, averaging nearly a full point per game higher during league play (12.3 points per game). She started in 23 of the 25 games she played and finished in the top 10 of the league in several offensive categories including free throw percentage (76.3 – 8th), assists (63 – 8th) and assists per game (2.5 – 9th). Cross scored in double-digits in 15 contests, including a career-high 26 in a victory over Texas Lutheran on Jan. 25th. Cross becomes Schreiner’s first-ever recipient of the SCAC Women’s Basketball Newcomer-of-the-Year award.

Cross received five votes from the league’s head coaches in earning Newcomer-of-the-Year honors. First-year guard Anna Fanelli of Colorado College received three votes, while first-year guard Sarah Gwin of Austin College and first-year forward Ashlyn Milton of Trinity University picked up one vote each.

St. Thomas’ Taylor was a force defensively, on the ball and away, as the senior finished second on the team in both total steals (53) and steals per game (2.1). She stepped her defensive prowess up in conference play, finishing fourth in SCAC-only competition with 53 total steals while averaging 2.3 per game. Taylor anchored a Celts defense that limited opponents to under 40 percent shooting for the season and under 67 points per game. She also grabbed 4.6 rebounds per game – good enough for fourth on her team. Taylor becomes St. Thomas’ first-ever major award winner in the sport of women’s basketball.

Taylor received five votes in the balloting for the league’s Defensive POTY award. Sophomore forward Noel Pratts of Southwestern received three votes, sophomore guard Gabby Ivarra of Schreiner received two votes and senior guard Dominique Campos of Texas Lutheran received the remaining first-place vote.

A year after her team went 6-20 (6-10 in conference play) and earned the sixth seed for the SCAC tournament, Schreiner head coach Sam Davidson led her squad to a 6 1/2 game turnaround in 2019-20. The Mountaineers finished with a 10-8 league mark, which earned them the No. 4 seed in this weekend’s conference tournament, and currently sport a 12-13 overall record. The 12 wins mark the highest for the Mountaineers since the 2015-16 season. In her third year at the helm of the Schreiner program, Davidson holds a 24-53 overall mark, including a 20-28 (.417) mark in league competition. The Coach-of-the-Year honor is the first for Davidson and the second for Schreiner, as she joins Temaine Wright who won the award following the 2015-16 season.

Trinity head coach Cameron Hill has led the Tigers to a 22-3 overall mark, a 17-1 record in SCAC play and is currently ranked 12th in both the D3hoops.com Top 25 and the WBCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll entering this weekend’s conference tournament. Hill has guided his Tigers to a second-straight outright SCAC regular season title and third in his career. The 2019-20 season marks the seventh-straight season Trinity has reached the 20-win plateau under Hill, who currently holds an overall record of 182-40 (.819), including a blistering 104-15 (.874) mark in SCAC action. The 104 wins in SCAC play is currently the fourth most in conference history, while the 182 wins is currently eighth. In terms of winning percentage, Hill’s .819 overall mark is tops in SCAC history among coaches with at least five years of service and his .874 winning percentage in league play is second. This marks the third time Hill has received the honor as he was previously named SCAC COTY following the 2012-13 and 2016-17 seasons.

The 2019-20 season marks just the third time in SCAC history the league has crowned Co-Coaches of the Year and the first time since the 2002-03 season when Rhodes’ Matt Dean and Trinity’s Becky Geyer shared the award.

2019-20 SCAC PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR
Abby Holland, Trinity University, 6-0, Sr., Forward, Georgetown, Texas

2019-20 SCAC NEWCOMER-OF-THE-YEAR
Zahra Cross, Schreiner University, 5-3, Fy., Guard, Austin, Texas                

2019-20 SCAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER-OF-THE-YEAR
Jazz Taylor, University of St. Thomas, 5-8, Sr., Forward, Duncanville, Texas

2019-20 SCAC CO-COACHES-OF-THE-YEAR                        
Sam Davidson, Schreiner University, 12-13 Overall / 10-8 SCAC / 6.5 game improvement from 18-19
Cameron Hill, Trinity University, 22-3 Overall / 17-1 SCAC / Top seed in SCAC Tourney

2019-20 ALL-SCAC FIRST TEAM
Abby Holland, Trinity, 6-0, Sr., Forward, Georgetown, Texas
Sheridan Hopkins, St. Thomas, 5-9, Sr., Guard, Galveston, Texs
McKenzee Gertz, Colorado College, 5-11, Jr., Guard/Forward  Fort Collins, Colo.
Cecily Woolfolk, Southwestern, 6-0, Sr., Center, Crowley, Texas
Kacie West, Austin College, 5-7, Jr., Guard, Sulphur, Okla.

2019-20 ALL-SCAC SECOND TEAM
Bresha Orange, St. Thomas, 5-9, Sr., Forward, Longview, Texas
Ann Savage, Austin College, 5-7, Gr., Guard, Tulsa, Okla.
Zahra Cross, Schreiner, 5-3, Fy., Guard, Austin, Texas
Julia Ackerman, Trinity, 5-7, Jr., Guard, Orange County, Calif.
Ally Longaker, Austin College, 6-0, Jr., Forward, Half Moon Bay, Calif.

2019-20 ALL-SCAC THIRD TEAM
Reagan Chiaverini, Austin College, 5-10, Jr., Forward, Parker, Colo.
Sydney Williams, Schreiner, 6-1, Jr., Center, Round Rock, Texas
Jordan Meltzer, Colorado College, 5-3, Sr., Guard, Burbank, Calif.
Emily Daniel, Trinity, 5-9, Jr., Guard, Georgetown, Texas
Bre Frierson, Centenary, 5-11, Jr., Forward, Shreveport, La.

HONORABLE MENTION (players receiving votes)
Austin College – Natalie McCoy (So., G), Sarah Gwin (Fy., G); Colorado College – Anna Fanelli (Fy., G), Rosie Bradley (Fy., F); Dallas – Beyonce Perry (Fy., G); Johnson & Wales – Katey Guzman (So., G), Brianna Bailey (So., G); Southwestern – Noel Pratts (Jr., F); St. Thomas – Jazz Taylor (Sr., F), Micayla Hamilton (Fy., G); Texas Lutheran – Morgan Rodriguez (So., F), Tara Molina (Jr., G), Dominique Campos (Sr., G), Abby Hroch (Jr., P), Cami Davis (Sr., G); Trinity – Kelly Simmons (So., C/F), Ashlyn Milton (Fy., F), Jordan Rudd (Jr., G)

Coaches voted for 15 places for All-SCAC with 15 points awarded for first-place votes, 14 points for second-place votes, 13 points for third-place votes, etc., down to one point for a 15th-place vote. All players not elected to the First, Second or Third Team, but who received at least one vote, were named Honorable Mention. Coaches could not vote for their own players.

For the complete release, click here.