USF’s Pyle Headlines Women’s Basketball Postseason Honor Roll
CHICAGO — Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s basketball regular-season champion Saint Xavier University came away with the most honors, while tournament champion University of St. Francis boasted the top player when the league office announced its 2021-2022 postseason award winners on Monday morning.
Saint Xavier collected a total of seven awards, including two of the top five individual accolades. The Cougar program also produced a league-high four all-conference selections, including a CCAC-best three on the second team.
St. Ambrose University followed by gaining five awards, including a top individual honor and recognition as the league’s Champions of Character Team. Next in line were St. Francis and Holy Cross College with four award recipients each followed by Olivet Nazarene with three all-conference selections.
Collecting two pieces of hardware each were representatives from Trinity Christian College, Trinity International University, Indiana University South Bend, Indiana University Northwest and Governors State University. Lincoln College, Judson University and Roosevelt University were represented by one awardee each.
Capturing the top honor was St. Francis’ Jordan Pyle (Traralgon, Australia), who became the second Saint in three seasons to be named the CCAC Player of the Year. The senior forward ranked second in the league in both scoring (18.2 points per game) and total field goals (190), while placing fifth in three-point accuracy (.370) and tenth in three-pointers made (51).
A three-time CCAC Player of the Week, Pyle’s other averages included 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.
Garnering CCAC Newcomer of the Year accolades was St. Ambrose senior guard Shayne Smith (Shiloh, Ill.). A transfer from Monmouth College, she averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per outing.
CCAC Freshman of the Year honors went to Holy Cross’ Jordyn Smith (Granger, Ind.). The guard ranked fifth in the league in both assists (4.1 per game) and steals (2.2 per game), while scoring at a 10.3 points-per-game clip and averaging 4.3 rebounds per contest.
Smith also highlighted the newly created CCAC All-Freshman Team, which was made up of five members, two of which hailed from Holy Cross.
The other newly established award – CCAC Defensive Player of the Year – was earned by Saint Xavier’s Sidney Lovitsch (Grayslake, Ill.). She ranked eighth best in the league in steals per game (2.0), while also blocking an average of 1.0 shots per contest and pulling in 4.3 rebounds per night.
Offensively, the senior guard turned in averages of 12.7 points and 2.8 assists per game.
Rounding out the list of individual award winners was Saint Xavier head coach Travis Brewster, who was named the CCAC Coach of the Year. The first-year head coach has guided the Cougars to an overall 25-6 mark heading into the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round, the regular-season league title and a No. 18 national ranking.
A total of 25 players were named as all-conference selections broken down into a five-member first team, a ten-member second team and ten honorable mention choices. Of the five members named to the first team, Saint Xavier’s Claire Austin (Chicago, Ill.) and Trinity Christian’s Gabby Kreykes (St. John, Ind.) were repeat selections, while St. Ambrose’s Kylie Wroblewski (Bettendorf, Iowa) was named to the first team for the second time in three years. Pyle and Indiana South Bend’s Maddie Gard (Oak Creek, Wis.) rounded out the five-member team.
2021-22 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON AWARDS
Player of the Year Jordan Pyle – St. Francis
Defensive Player of the Year Sidney Lovitsch – Saint Xavier
Newcomer of the Year Shayne Smith – St. Ambrose
Freshman of the Year Jordyn Smith – Holy Cross
Coach of the Year Travis Brewster – Saint Xavier
Champions of Character Team St. Ambrose University
All-Freshman Team
F Grace Adams Holy Cross Elkhart, Ind.
C Alyssa Crenshaw Saint Xavier Algonquin, Ill.
G Faith Davis Trinity Christian Bourbonnais, Ill.
G Jordyn Smith Holy Cross Granger, Ind.
G Da’Naria Washington Trinity International Indianapolis, Ind.
2021-22 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON AWARDS
First Team All-Conference
F Claire Austin Sr. Saint Xavier Chicago, Ill.
G Maddie Gard Jr. Indiana South Bend Oak Creek, Wis.
G Gabby Kreykes Sr. Trinity Christian St. John, Ind.
F Jordan Pyle Sr. St. Francis (Ill.) Traralgon, Australia
F Kylie Wroblewski Jr. St. Ambrose Bettendorf, Iowa
Second Team All-Conference
F Andriana Acosta Sr. St. Francis (Ill.) Crest Hill, Ill.
F Caroline Boehne Sr. Olivet Nazarene Hoffman, Ill.
C Camile Buckhanon Jr. Lincoln Talladega, Ala.
G Brianna Flayter Sr. Saint Xavier Hales Corners, Wis.
G Katie Gard Jr. Indiana South Bend Oak Creek, Wis.
G Kennedy Johnson Sr. Olivet Nazarene Romulus, Mich.
G Sidney Lovitsch Sr. Saint Xavier Grayslake, Ill.
F Jaynee Prestegaard Jr. St. Ambrose Amboy, Ill.
G/F Michaela Schmidt Jr. Indiana Northwest Highland, Ind.
C McKenna Zobel Sr. Saint Xavier Lake Zurich, Ill.
Honorable Mention All-Conference
G Ta’Mia Banks Sr. Judson Evanston, Ill.
G Gabrielle Beggs So. Roosevelt Justice, Ill.
F Sharnita Breeze Sr. Governors State Justice, Ill.
G Justene Charlesworth Sr. St. Francis (Ill.) Wanatah, Ind.
G Cashay Dixon Fr. Governors State Chicago, Ill.
F/C Tiara Jackson So. Indiana Northwest East Chicago, Ind.
F Alina Jahnke Sr. Trinity International Borkum, Germany
G Jayda Miller Jr. Holy Cross Mishawaka, Ind.
G/F Anna Plumer Jr. St. Ambrose Canton, Ill.
G Karina Smits Sr. Olivet Nazarene Pewaukee, Wis.
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