March 8, 2010
All-Big West Women's Basketball Teams Big West Specialty Awards
IRVINE, Calif. -- Junior Paige Mintun was named to the All-Big West Conference first team for the second straight year, Heidi Heintz was selected to the second team and Sandy Simpson was named the Big West Coach of the Year, headlining UC Davis' honorees on the league's postseason women's basketball awards list.
Additionally, senior Haylee Donaghe was named honorable mention in a vote of the league's head coach while also being named the Big West's top defensive player in voting by her conference peers.
The awards were announced Monday morning in advance of the Big West Tournament in Anaheim this week. UC Davis, 20-9 overall, captured its first-ever Big West Conference regular-season championship with a 12-4 record. The Aggies, the top seed, received a double-bye and will play on Friday at noon against the lowest remaining seed.
The eight-team tournament begins Wednesday and continues through Saturday at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Mintun, a 6-foot-2 post from Valley Center who was also named the Big West Player of the Week on Monday, leads UC Davis in scoring (12.6) and rebounding (5.0) averages, as well as total blocks (29). She has canned 35 three-pointers and is coming off two straight games of at least 20 points including a 21-point, 10-rebound effort against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
Heintz, a 5-11 junior from Spokane, Wash., transferred to UC Davis from the University of San Francisco and immediately established herself early this season, earning Big West Player of the Week honors in December after Aggie wins over Saint Mary's and San Francisco. She is second on the team in scoring (10.6) and rebounding (4.7). Heintz helped highlight her year with back-to-back double-doubles at UC Santa Barbara (12 pts, 10 rebs.) and Pacific (11 pts, 11 rebs.) in early February.
Donaghe, a senior wing from Atascadero, is one of the top defenders in program history. Her 216 career steals are fourth all-time at UC Davis while her 2.3 average this year ranks her second in the Big West and 96th nationally. Twice in her career she has posted nine steals in a game - the third-highest total in school history - most recently against Pacific this season. She enters the postseason averaging 7.4 ppg and shooting 80.6% from the free throw line.
Donaghe, who is in her sixth season with the program after receiving an NCAA clock extension due to injuries earlier in her career, was named to the All-Big West second team two seasons ago.
Simpson's honor is his second during UC Davis' brief three-year tenure in the Big West. He was recognized in 2008 after leading the Aggies to a second-place Big West finish in the regular-season, their first in the league.
This year, UC Davis posted its first 20-win season since the 1998-99 campaign. The Aggies have enjoyed winning streaks of seven and five games this season. Simpson is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 226 victories and was also named Coach of the Year for both the Northern California Athletic Conference and California Collegiate Athletic Association during UC Davis' NCAA Division II era.
Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago was named the Big West Player of the Year while Jazmyne White of UC Irvine earned Freshman of the Year honors. Other awards were given to Christina Thompson of Pacific (SixthWoman of the Year) and Ariana Gnekow of UC Santa Barbara (Best Hustle).
