Hannah Nichols was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year by the SoCon Sports Media Association on Wednesday.
Media Names Nichols SoCon Freshman Of The Year
3.5.14 | Women's Basketball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford freshman guard Hannah Nichols was named the Southern Conference's Freshman of the Year by the SoCon Sports Media Association when the league's postseason women's basketball awards were released on Wednesday.
Nichols was also named to the league's All-Freshmen team by both the media and the coaches. In addition to Nichols' honors, senior guard Shelby Campbell was named the winner of the Ann Lashley Inspiration Award, which is voted on by the SoCon's head coaches.
For the season, Nichols ranked second on the Samford team, averaging 8.2 points per game. She also led the team in rebounding, with an average of 4.2 boards per contest, and she ranked second on the team in blocks with 11.
Nichols was named the league's Freshman of the Week twice during the season. She earned the honor on Jan. 7, after averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in games against Davidson and Georgia Southern. She was also named Freshman of the Week on Jan. 21, after averaging 16.0 points per game in wins over Furman and Wofford.
Campbell was Samford's leading scorer as a junior in 2012-13 until she tore her ACL in a game at Auburn in late December. Despite being unable to play, Campbell continued to be a leader off the court for the Samford team.
As a senior this season, Campbell was once again one of the leaders of the team before breaking her knee cap in a game at Appalachian State in early January. Since having surgery to repair her knee, Campbell has continued to be an emotional leader for the young Samford team.
In her first two seasons in a Samford uniform, Campbell was a key member of the Bulldogs' back-to-back SoCon Tournament championship teams. In her sophomore season in 2011-12, she was named the MVP of the SoCon Tournament.
Samford will next be in action on Saturday, March 8, when the sixth-seeded Bulldogs take on third-seeded Davidson on the second day of the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, N.C. Tip-off for the Samford-Davidson game is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. (CT). All of Samford's games in the tournament can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
The full Southern Conference Sports Media Association All-Conference team, and the league's Coaches All-Conference team are both listed below.
2014 SoCon Women's Basketball Awards
Media All-Conference Team
First Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Laura Murray, Davidson
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Holli Wilkins, Furman
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Second Team
Dakota Dukes, Davidson
Hannah Early, Davidson
Kelsey Harris Elon
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Ashlen Dewart, Chattanooga
Media All-Freshmen Team
Lauren Brown, Elon
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Whitney Bunn, Furman
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Chelsey Shumpert, Chattanooga
Media Player of the Year
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Media Freshman of the Year
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Media Coach of the Year
Jackie Carson, Furman
Coaches All-Conference Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Dakota Dukes, Davidson
Laura Murray, Davidson
Kelsey Harris, Elon
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Holli Wilkins, Furman
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Alex Black, Chattanooga
Ashlen Dewart, Chattanooga
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Coaches All-Freshmen Team
Lauren Brown, Elon
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Whitney Bunn, Furman
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Chelsey Shumpert, Chattanooga
Coaches Player of the Year
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Coaches Defensive Player of the Year
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Coaches Freshman of the Year
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Coaches Coach of the Year
Jackie Carson, Furman
Ann Lashley Inspiration Award
Shelby Campbell, Samford
Nichols was also named to the league's All-Freshmen team by both the media and the coaches. In addition to Nichols' honors, senior guard Shelby Campbell was named the winner of the Ann Lashley Inspiration Award, which is voted on by the SoCon's head coaches.
For the season, Nichols ranked second on the Samford team, averaging 8.2 points per game. She also led the team in rebounding, with an average of 4.2 boards per contest, and she ranked second on the team in blocks with 11.
Nichols was named the league's Freshman of the Week twice during the season. She earned the honor on Jan. 7, after averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in games against Davidson and Georgia Southern. She was also named Freshman of the Week on Jan. 21, after averaging 16.0 points per game in wins over Furman and Wofford.
Campbell was Samford's leading scorer as a junior in 2012-13 until she tore her ACL in a game at Auburn in late December. Despite being unable to play, Campbell continued to be a leader off the court for the Samford team.
As a senior this season, Campbell was once again one of the leaders of the team before breaking her knee cap in a game at Appalachian State in early January. Since having surgery to repair her knee, Campbell has continued to be an emotional leader for the young Samford team.
In her first two seasons in a Samford uniform, Campbell was a key member of the Bulldogs' back-to-back SoCon Tournament championship teams. In her sophomore season in 2011-12, she was named the MVP of the SoCon Tournament.
Samford will next be in action on Saturday, March 8, when the sixth-seeded Bulldogs take on third-seeded Davidson on the second day of the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville, N.C. Tip-off for the Samford-Davidson game is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. (CT). All of Samford's games in the tournament can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
The full Southern Conference Sports Media Association All-Conference team, and the league's Coaches All-Conference team are both listed below.
2014 SoCon Women's Basketball Awards
Media All-Conference Team
First Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Laura Murray, Davidson
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Holli Wilkins, Furman
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Second Team
Dakota Dukes, Davidson
Hannah Early, Davidson
Kelsey Harris Elon
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Ashlen Dewart, Chattanooga
Media All-Freshmen Team
Lauren Brown, Elon
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Whitney Bunn, Furman
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Chelsey Shumpert, Chattanooga
Media Player of the Year
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Media Freshman of the Year
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Media Coach of the Year
Jackie Carson, Furman
Coaches All-Conference Team
Maryah Sydnor, Appalachian State
Dakota Dukes, Davidson
Laura Murray, Davidson
Kelsey Harris, Elon
Brittany Hodges, Furman
Holli Wilkins, Furman
Anna Claire Knight, Georgia Southern
Alex Black, Chattanooga
Ashlen Dewart, Chattanooga
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Coaches All-Freshmen Team
Lauren Brown, Elon
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Whitney Bunn, Furman
Hannah Nichols, Samford
Chelsey Shumpert, Chattanooga
Coaches Player of the Year
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Coaches Defensive Player of the Year
Taylor Hall, Chattanooga
Coaches Freshman of the Year
Jennifer Rhodes, Elon
Coaches Coach of the Year
Jackie Carson, Furman
Ann Lashley Inspiration Award
Shelby Campbell, Samford
Saturday, February 07
Friday, February 06
Friday, January 02
Friday, January 02
