After leading the women’s basketball team to its first 20-win season in 16 years, sophomore Breanna Salley () has been named Independent Newcomer of the Year and has been voted First Team All-Independent, announced Wednesday by the organizers of the voting among the head coaches and sports information directors of the 14 Division I independent schools.
Salley led the team in scoring with 489 total points, the 15th-highest single-season point total in SeattleU history and the most points scored by an SU women’s basketball player in 12 seasons. She reached double figures in scoring 26 times, including the last 20 games in a row. She scored a season-high 29 points on Dec. 2 in a 70-56 win over Division II West Regional finalist Seattle Pacific.
The transfer from the of scored 21 points in SeattleU’s 94-62 win at on Nov. 23, her first collegiate game in over a year and ’s first win as a Division I school over a Division I opponent. Averaging 17.5 points per game, she was fifth among all players on independent schools in scoring as well as third in blocked shots with 32 rejections during the year. Salley was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Husky Classic on Thanksgiving weekend after posting 23 points and eight rebounds against and following that with 17 points against .
Senior Chelsie Morrison (, ) and junior Mercedes Alexander () earned honorable mention recognition after receiving votes in the process. Morrison was second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game. She scored in double figures 22 times, including a season-high 28 points at Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Jan. 18. Morrison finished her collegiate career by averaging 18.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in the North Dakota Spring Thaw Tournament, earning her a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Alexander finished her first season at SeattleU with 9.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, third on the squad in scoring and first in rebounding. She pulled down 289 total rebounds, the 12th-highest single-season rebounding total in program history and the most rebounds by a SeattleU player in 15 years. Alexander notched ten double-doubles during the season, including five games in a row from Feb. 19 to March 7. On Senior Night against on Feb. 21, she earned 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Robyn Fairbanks of was named Independent Player of the Year for the third straight season, averaging 26.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Fallon Thomas of Houston Baptist earned Independent Defensive Player of the Year honors after leading the Huskies with 121 steals, 90 assists, and 31 blocked shots. Cal State Bakersfield’s Tim La Kose earned Independent Coach of the Year honors after leading the Roadrunners to a 19-10 record, a seven-game improvement over the previous season.
The All-Independent Team features players from the 14 Division I schools not in a conference during the 2008-09 season: Bryant University, Cal State Bakersfield, Chicago State, Houston Baptist, Longwood University, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), North Carolina Central, North Dakota, Savannah State, Seattle University, South Dakota, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Texas-Pan American, and Utah Valley University.