Lady Jackets make it five straight honor rolls

Posted: Jul 17, 2012 2:48 PM by Scott Breen - Q2 Sports

ATLANTA, Ga. - For the fifth year in a row, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team is being recognized for its performance in the classroom by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The Yellowjacket women boast the 19th-best overall grade point average (GPA) for an NCAA Division II team during the 2011-12 academic year as announced by the organization Tuesday.

"We at MSUB continue to be very proud of the stellar commitment our women's basketball student-athletes have made year after year to strive for excellence in the classroom as well as on the basketball court," Athletic Director Dr. Gary Gray said. "We appreciate the dedication and direction provided by Coach Wooden, Coach Harris and Coach Genske in helping our student-athletes continue on their path to achieving excellence."

"Our players have worked very hard in the classroom to earn this distinguished award," said head coach Kevin Woodin. "I am proud of their continued commitment to excellence both on and off the court."

The WBCA Academic Top-25 annually recognizes NCAA Divisions I, II and III; NAIA; and junior college/community college teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2011-12 season is the 15th in which the WBCA has presented the standings.

The Yellowjackets finished the school year with a 3.476 team GPA and were joined on the squad by fellow Great Northwest Athletic Conference school Seattle Pacific University (20th) in the poll. It is the third-consecutive year that MSUB has posted the best team GPA in the league.

This past season, MSUB placed four players on the GNAC's Academic All-Conference team. Bobbi Knudsen, Corie Smith, Kalli Stanhope and Brooke Tolman all boasted at least a 3.20 GPA while competing in at least their second year with MSUB.

Also for the second year in a row, the top DII school led all three NCAA divisions in GPA as Drury's 3.709 team GPA was topped DI (3.616) and DIII (3.706). It is the third time in the history of the poll that Drury has held the top-ranked GPA in Division II. King college (Tenn.) was second in the poll with Lake Erie, Fort Hays State and Rockhurst rounding out the top-five.

Last season, the Yellowjackets finished sixth in the league standings with a record of 18-12 overall and 10-8 in conference action. The squad also made an appearance in the conference tournament.