Westminster's Backes Named Capital One Academic All-District

FULTON, Mo. - Westminster College junior guard Rachel Backes (Tipton, Mo./Tipton) has been named a second team selection on the 2010-11 Capital One Academic All-District 7 Women's Basketball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The honor recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance on the floor and in the classroom.

Backes, who is a biology major, leads the Blue Jays and St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in scoring at 15.4 points a game, assists at 4.5 a game and 3-point field percentage at 50 percent (36-of-72). Backes is a Dean's List student and an academic all-conference pick. She earned all-conference honors in her first two seasons, including first-team recognition as a sophomore, and she is a three-year captain of a Westminster team that is 13-5 overall and is riding a school-record eight-game winning streak. The Blue Jays have set a school mark with their 10-0 start in league play and they hold a two-game lead in the league standings.

Backes is the only male or female basketball player from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to earn Capital One Academic All-District honors.

Courtesy Westminster College (Mo.) sports information