OGDEN, Utah, March 10 – Three Southern Utah women's basketball players were recognized when the Big Sky announced its postseason awards on Monday. Junior guard Hailey Mandelko was named all-conference first team, sophomore forward Lori Parkinson was selected to the second team and senior Andrea Jones earned a share of the Top Reserve award.
Mandelko ranked among the Big Sky leaders during conference play by averaging 15.8 points a game and making 2.4 3-pointers a contest while shooting 37.8 percent from the outside. She was Southern Utah's top-scorer on a team that ranked among the nation's top-50 offenses. The senior guard led the Thunderbirds in scoring 11 times and turned in a total of seven 20-point performances. The Lexington, Neb. native also racked up 51 assists on the year to go along with 37 steals.
Parkinson turned in an outstanding sophomore season, leading Southern Utah on the glass with 7.8 rebounds a game and field goal percentage with a shooting mark of 52.4 percent during Big Sky play. She ranked in the top-five performers in both categories while ranking 16th in the conference by scoring 12.8 ppg. The West Valley, Utah native also recorded 44 steals, 45 assists and led the T-Birds with 28 blocks as well as six double-doubles.
Jones finished out her four-year career at SUU by coming off the bench to rank fourth among the Thunderbirds by averaging 8.7 points on 42.7 percent shooting and led the team with 3.8 assists a contest against Big Sky opponents. The senior guard from Mesa, Ariz. also shot 36.6 percent from behind the arc and grabbed 23 steals. Jones ranked first in the conference at the foul line for the year with a mark of 88.0 percent and will go into the SUU record books as the program's all-time leader in the category at over 85 percent for her career.
“I am very proud of our entire team, but it is exciting to have several players recognized by the league's coaches for their outstanding play,” commented SUU head coach JR Payne.
North Dakota's Madi Buck received the Most Valuable Player Award, Montana's Carly Selvig was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year while Northern Arizona's Brittani Lusain was named the league's Outstanding Freshman and UND's Kelsey Knox was recognized as the Top Newcomer. North Dakota's Emily Evers shared the Top Reserve award with Jones.
A complete listing of the postseason awards is availble here.
The Thunderbirds finished the regular season as Big Sky co-champions with tournament host North Dakota. SUU will begin postseason play with a matchup against Sacramento State this Thursday at 1:30 p.m. (MT) Coverage of Southern Utah basketball is available online at www.suutbirds.com.
