Big West Unveils 2008-09 All-Speciality Team

Cal State Fullerton's Daviyonne Weathersby

UC Irvine's Kelly Cochran

UC Riverside's Kemie Nkele

The 2008-09 Big West All-Speciality Team was announced today, with senior Kemie Nkele (UC Riverside) collecting the Big West Defensive Player of the Year, Kelly Cochran (UC Irvine) receiving the Big West Best Sixth Woman honor and Dayvionne Weathersby (Cal State Fullerton) picking up Big West Best Hustle Player accolade.  The awards were voted on by their peers, who were not allowed to vote for their own teammates.

 After being named Big West Player of the Year for the second time in her career just a day ago, Nkele adds yet another distinguished honor to her career with the defensive player of the year award.  Nkele, who eclipsed the 2,000-point threshold in the final week of the regular season, paces the Big West Conference with an 18.7 scoring average and ranks second in rebounding with 8.1 boards per contest.  The 6-1 forward posted the league’s second-best block average of 1.59 to guide the Highlanders to the top spot in the Big West.  Nkele was consistent throughout the season, picking up four Big West Player of the Week honors to increase her career total to 10, ranking her third all-time in the Big West.  Her success while donning the blue and gold is showcased throughout the Big West record books, as she holds top 10 spots in multiple categories, including career scoring, career rebounds and career blocks.

 Dealing with a nagging injury throughout the course of the season, Cochran saw limited playing time but was a catalyst to both the offense and defense when she came off the bench, earning her best sixth woman honors.  Playing in 22 of UC Irvine’s 29 contests, starting two, the West Hills, Calif., native finished third on the Anteater squad with 4.6 rebounds and fourth in scoring with 6.2 points per game.  In conference action, Cochran ranked ninth in the Big West in blocks with a .79 average.  The senior forward closed out conference play with a season-high 13 rebounds, 12 points and three blocks.

Weathersby was tabbed best hustle player after demonstrating her aggressiveness on the court over the course of the year.  The Santa Clarita, Calif, native continues to rank second in the Big West Conference with 2.13 steals per game and is fifth overall with 49 swipes on the year. She has a steal in all but two games she has appeared in 2008-09, including a season-high four steals in the season-opener against Santa Clara and again against UC Davis on Feb. 14 and at Long Beach State on Feb. 28.  Weathersby currently ranks second on the Titan squad with 46 assists and third in rebounds with a 4.1 average.


2008-09 BIG WEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kemie Nkele, UC Riverside

2008-09 BIG WEST BEST SIXTH WOMAN
Kelly Cochran, UC Irvine

2008-09 BIG WEST BEST HUSTLE PLAYER
Dayvionne Weathersby, Cal State Fullerton