SWOSU Sports
Doug Self, Sports Information Director
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association (D2CCA) announced Tuesday that Southwestern Oklahoma State University guard Hailey Tucker has been named the 2017-18 Central Region Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, highlighting the D2CCA Central Region Women’s Basketball All‐Region Teams.
Also earning a spot the team was SWOSU junior guard Hayden Priddy, who was named a Second Team All-Region selection. Tucker is a repeat selection as a First Team All-Central Region choice and she becomes the first Lady Bulldog to be named the Regional Player of the Year.
Tucker led the Central Region in scoring, averaging 20.5 points per game in her junior season while totaling 636 points, which ranks as the fourth-most at SWOSU all-time. In her three seasons, Tucker has climbed to third on the Lady Bulldogs all-time scoring chart with 1,670 points and her career scoring average of 18.2 points per game is currently ranked third in school history. After being held to a season-low eight points in the season opener against Emporia State, Tucker scored in double figures in every other game this season and posted eight double-doubles.
In addition to her scoring, Tucker ranked third in the GAC in blocked shots (56) and ninth in rebounding (7.5 per game). She knocked down 72 three-pointers, a mark that ranked sixth in the conference, and shot 36% from three-point range for the season.
Priddy picks up her first All-Region selection after a standout junior season that saw her named First Team All-GAC for the second consecutive year. She averaged 15.4 points per game, which ranked her fifth in the conference, while ranking third in the league in free throw percentage (87.5%), three-point percentage (42.0%) and assists (4.5 per game) while leading the league with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.7/1. Priddy reached double figures in scoring 25 times this season and recorded one double-double with 17 points and a career-best 11 assists at Arkansas Tech back in November.
The two All-Region honors for the 2017-18 Lady Bulldogs matches the amount of All-Region selections that SWOSU Women’s Basketball had during their NCAA Division II era coming into this season. In addition to Tucker being named First Team All-Central Region last season, Julie Dawson was the only other SWOSU player to be named to the team as a First Team All-South Central Region selection in 2005-06.
Sports information directors from NCAA Division II Central Region schools and conferences selected the D2CCA all‐region teams. The process concludes with All‐American selections announced later in the month. The NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners sponsored the All-Region teams.
2017-18 D2CCA All-Central Region
Women’s Basketball Team (pdf)
First Team
Hailey Tucker, Southwestern Oklahoma State (Player of the Year)
Paige Redmond, Central Missouri
Miranda Ristau, Northern State
Megan Rosenbohm, Southwest Baptist
Drew Sannes, MSU Moorhead
Second Team
Paige Ballinger, Wayne State College
Michaela Barry, Nebraska-Kearney
Kallie Bildner, Lindenwood
Mikaela Burgess, Pittsburg State
Sue Key, Southern Arkansas
Cheyenne North, Arkansas Tech
Hayden Priddy, Southwestern Oklahoma State