Stafford Headlines SLIAC Women's Basketball All-Conference Awards

Fontbonne University's Rylee Stafford headlines the list of the 2019-20 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball All-Conference award winners. Stafford becomes the 7th Griffin in program history to win the SLIAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year award and is joined by her coach Maureen Sias, who was named the Coach of the Year, as an award recipient. 

Stafford, a junior guard, was one of the league's top sharpshooters; connecting on a conference record 66 three-pointers during conference play while ranking 9th with a 39-percent three-point field goal percentage. Stafford averaged 19.3 points per game against conference opponents while adding 31 assists and ranking 4th with 39 steals. She reached double figures in every conference game but one this season, tallying 11 games with 20 or more points including a high of 30.

Her coach, Maureen Sias, guided Stafford and the Griffins to a 15-3 SLIAC record; their most conference wins in a season in program history. Fontbonne was picked 5th in the preseason poll only to finish 2nd in the league this year. This marks the first time that Coach Sias has been named the SLIAC Coach of the Year. 

The SLIAC Newcomer of the Year is from Greenville University, Emily Reinneck. The freshman guard started every game for the Panthers this season, averaging 12.8 points per game with 44 assists and 25 steals. She ranked in the top seven of the league in both three-point field goals made and three-point field goal percentage. 

A pair of new awards this year are the SLIAC Defensive Player of the Year and the 6th Woman of the Year. Webster University's Jaysea Morgan was recognized as the league's top defender after leading the league in steals with 56. She set the Gorlok career steals record earlier this season and currently ranks 5th in conference history in career steals with 267 in her four years.

Jadyn Mitchell, from Eureka College, was honored as the SLIAC 6th Woman of the Year. Mitchell averaged 11.8 points per game in her 18 conference contests. She ranked 2nd in the league with a 91-percent free-throw percentage and added 27 assists and 14 steals while ranking 11th with 30 three-point field goals. 

This year's SLIAC Team Sportsmanship award goes to Principia College. This award goes to the team whose coaches, players, and fans best exemplify the league's ideals on sportsmanship.