Six Women’s Basketball Players Named To ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams

BRISTOL, Conn. - Six women's basketball players from the South Atlantic Conference have been named to the 2007 women's basketball ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District College Division teams, it was announced today.

Mars Hill College senior guard Abby DeBusk and Wingate University sophomore guard Anna Atkinson were both named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team. DeBusk and Atkinson now qualify for the Academic All-American Ballot.

Newberry College's Tonique Frasier was named to the District III Second Team, while Newberry teammate Monica Alexander and Wingate's Emily Paffrath were named to the District III Third Team. Also, Carson-Newman College's Ashley Tipton was named to the All-District IV Third Team.

Abby DeBusk

Anna Atkinson

Tonique Frasier

Emily Paffrath

Monica Alexander

Ashley Tipton

DeBusk, is a 5-9 senior from New Tazewell, TN. On the basketball court she leads the team in scoring (16.6 ppg) and assists (4.0 apg) and is third in free throw percentage (.802) and rebounding (6.0 rpg). In the South Atlantic Conference, Abby ranks third in scoring, first in 3-point percentage (.435), 12th in rebounding, sixth in assists, second in free throw percentage, 13th in steals (0.2 spg) and 11th in field goal percentage (.480). Abby has twice been named SAC Player of the Week this season.

This year Abby also entered the Mars Hill 1,000-point club and is currently the 13th all-time scorer (1,224 pts) in the history of the women's basketball program. She also broke the Mars Hill school career assist record (442) that was set back in 1987.

In the classroom, Abby carries 3.84 cumulative grade point average. She is majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Pre-Professional Studies. As a first team selection, Abby will qualify for the Division II Academic All-American Ballot.

Atkinson (Marion, N.C.) and Paffrath (Bakersville, N.C.) earn Academic All-District honors for the first time in their careers. Atkinson has a 4.00 GPA with a major in Biology. Paffrath possesses a 3.38 GPA with a major in Elementary Education.

The 2006 SAC Freshman of the Year, Atkinson is second in the South Atlantic Conference in assists (5.6 per game) and steals (2.5 per game). The McDowell High School product is 19th in the NCAA Division II in assists per game. She leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.72). Atkinson contributes 6.7 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Last year, Atkinson was named second team All-SAC. She directed one of the top-scoring offenses in the region, as the Bulldogs averaged 76.4 points per game during her first season. Atkinson led the league in steals per game (2.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).

Atkinson finished second in the SAC in assists per game (5.0) last year. She contributed 9.9 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game during her first season as Wingate's point guard.

Paffrath joined Atkinson on the All-SAC second team in 2006. This year, the Mitchell High School product leads the league with 2.4 blocks per game. Paffrath is 15th on the NCAA Division II charts in blocked shots per game.

Her 311 career blocks are tops in SAC and Wingate history. Paffrath has finished in the top 15 in the NCAA Division II blocked shot statistics each year of her career. She was eighth as a freshman, 12th as a sophomore and 14th as a junior.

Paffrath averages 10.7 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per contest this season. She scored the 1000th point of her Bulldog career Saturday (Feb. 3) in a SAC win at Catawba. Wingate is 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the SAC entering a home contest with Tusculum Saturday (Feb. 10).

The 2003-04 SAC Freshman of the Year, Paffrath averaged 10.3 points per game and a team-best 8.9 rebounds per game during her first year in the Bulldog blue-and-gold. In addition, she was a member of the SAC All-Freshman team.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution offering students active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, faith nurturing, career development, community service and study abroad.

Wingate offers more than 37 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers pre-professional programs and graduate degrees in business, education, physical education and sport administration.

In the spring of 2007, Wingate University will award its first-ever doctor of pharmacy degrees. Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports.

Frasier, a junior forward from Walterboro, S.C, has posted a 3.43 grade point average through the fall of 2007, majoring in business.

Frasier has played in 83 games in her career to date, averaging 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game over three seasons. As an accomplished defensive player, Frasier has totaled 155 steals in three years.

Alexander, a junior guard from Norcross, Ga., has accumulated a 3.41 grade point average through the fall of 2007, majoring in education.

The Norcross, Ga. native has appeared in 82 games for the Lady Indians, averaging 10.0 points and 4.1 assists per game over three seasons. Also a notable defensive player, Alexander has 152 career steals.

Tipton, a sophomore from Knoxville, has maintained a 4.0 grade point average in four semesters at Carson-Newman and is co-chairman of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Tipton leads the Lady Eagles in free throw percentage (89%) and three-point percentage (39 percent) while averaging 8.7 points per game.

The members of the College Sports Information Directors of America selected the players for this honor. Fifteen student-athletes were named to either the first, second or third team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III women's basketball team. The six first team members will advance to the national ballot. Another 22 made it from District IV.

The District III College Division consists of all-non NCAA Division I colleges and universities in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia. The District IV College Division consists of all non-Division I colleges and universities in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or a significant reserve on his or her team.

2007 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT III
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS (COLLEGE DIVISION)

FIRST TEAM
Caroline Wesley, Lynchburg (Va.)
Abby DeBusk, Mars Hill
Anna Atkinson, Wingate
Kathy Herr Lovell, Bridgewater (Va.)
Khaleh Thomas, Valdosta State (Ga.)
Rachael Jolly, North Georgia College & State

SECOND TEAM
Larissa McDonough, Rollins (Fla.)
Valicia Brown, Saint Augustine's
Tonique Frasier, Newberry
Stephanie Witko, Marymount (Va.)

THIRD TEAM
Sarah Mahan, Lynn (Fla.)
Jamie Allenbaugh, Flagler (Fla.)
Emily Paffrath, Wingate
Monica Alexander, Newberry
Debbie Bruen, Mary Washington (Va.)

2007 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT IV
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS (COLLEGE DIVISION)

FIRST TEAM
Lisa Winkle Calvin
Kristi Beougher Cedarville
Julia Braseth Grand Valley State
Stephanie Smith Olivet
Allison Fowler Union (KY)

SECOND TEAM
Erin Miller Ferris State
Sarah Bussis Cornerstone
Kathy Hittle Wittenberg
Jaclyn Armstrong Lake Superior State
Sara Fee Otterbein
Karyn Creager Northern Kentucky
Rachel Folcik Ferris State

THIRD TEAM
Autumn Charnley Albion
Ashley Tipton Carson-Newman
Cindy Beavin Transylvania
Bethany Mesko Wayne State
Kelly Peters Wilmington (OH)
Maria Eichhold Mount St. Joseph
Carly Loehrke Wooster
Kristen Sheffield Denison
Terra Teague Alma
Jessica Gibbons John Carroll