2012-13 DI Women’s Basketball All-American's Announced
By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2013 Division I Women’s Basketball All-America Teams on Wednesday. Players were selected by the NAIA-Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association All-America Committee with Tugce Canitez of Westmont (Calif.) named as the NAIA National Player of the Year and Kirsten Moore of Westmont tabbed as the Phyllis Holmes NAIA National Coach of the Year.
A key member of Westmont’s recent title run, Canitez is the first Warrior to earn the Player of the Year honor since the award was established in 1998. The senior forward from Izmir, Turkey, led the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (9.2) and was second in points per game (21.6), total scoring (714) and total rebounds (414). Canitez, who received the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Player of the Week award an unprecedented four times this season, was third in the NAIA with 23 double-doubles this season, including a 25-point and 20-rebound effort in the national championship final against Lee (Tenn.) on Tuesday night. She was also a 2012 NAIA First Team All-American.
Moore received Coach of the Year honors after leading Westmont to its first-ever NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship with a 71-65 victory over Lee on Tuesday. In addition to the national title, Moore guided the Warriors to a 30-4 overall record and its second-straight Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season championship. As a team, Westmont finished the season ranked in the top 10 in five categories: field goal percentage (0.445), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.082), total rebound defense (32.4), scoring defense per game (55.8) and 3-point field goal percentage (0.347). Moore boasts a 173-78 record in eight seasons at Westmont.
Seven individuals were repeat selections from a year ago: Natalie Shumpert of Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), Hollie German of Lee, Ashley Rainey of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Lauren Gober of Oklahoma City, Nicole Yazzie of Westminster (Utah), Heather English of Columbia (Mo.) and Canitez. Rainey, Shumpert and Gober are receiving All-America honors for the third time of their career.
2012-13 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball All-Americans| First Team | ||||
| Name | Institution | Pos. | Class | Hometown |
| Brittney Carter | Faulkner (Ala.) | F | So. | Montgomery, Ala. |
| Natalie Shumpert* | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | G | Sr. | Paducah, Ky. |
| Hollie German^ | Lee (Tenn.) | G | Jr. | Benton, Tenn. |
| Ashley Rainey* | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | F | Sr. | Bowling Green, Ky. |
| Nicole Hampton | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | G | So. | Canyon, Texas |
| Lauren Gober% | Oklahoma City | F | Sr. | Newcastle, Okla. |
| Katie Hall | Oklahoma City | C | Sr. | Hazelton, Idaho |
| Nicole Ballestero | Vanguard (Calif.) | G | Jr. | Orange, Calif. |
| Nicole Yazzie% | Westminster (Utah) | G | Sr. | West Valley City, Utah |
| Tugce Canitez* | Westmont (Calif.) | F | Sr. | Izmir, Turkey |
| Second Team | ||||
| Name | Institution | Pos. | Class | Hometown |
| Heather English% | Columbia (Mo.) | G | Jr. | Boonville, Mo. |
| Jessica Pace | Cumberland (Tenn.) | F | Sr. | Nashville, Tenn. |
| Kourtney Tyra | Georgetown (Ky.) | G | Jr. | McKee, Ky. |
| Kelsey Balcom | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | G | Jr. | Olathe, Kan. |
| Ashlie Billingslea | Southern Poly (La.) | G | Sr. | Stone Mountain, Ga. |
| April Perry | Southern-NO (La.) | G | Sr. | Long Beach, Calif. |
| Janae Howard | St. Catharine (Ky.) | F | Sr. | Owensboro, Ky. |
| Jacquelyn Marshall | The Master's (Calif.) | F | Jr. | San Clemente, Calif. |
| Esther Timmermans | Vanguard (Calif.) | F | Sr. | Melbourne, Australia |
| Priscila Santos | William Woods (Mo.) | G | Jr. | Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| Third Team | ||||
| Name | Institution | Pos. | Class | Hometown |
| Adijat Adams | Biola (Calif.) | C | Jr. | Inglewood, Calif. |
| Courtney Clifton | Campbellsville (Ky.) | G | Sr. | Lexington, Ky. |
| Torrie Cahill | Carroll (Mont.) | G | Sr. | Miles City, Mont. |
| Ashley Tate | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | G | Sr. | Memphis, Tenn. |
| Schera Sampson | Shawnee State (Ohio) | C | Sr. | Austin, Texas |
| Sarah Ogoke | Southern Poly (Ala.) | G | Jr. | Sugarland, Texas |
| Reilly Poirier | St. Catharine (Ky.) | F | Sr. | Dennis, Mass. |
| Leticia Silva | St. Gregory's | G | Sr. | Whitesboro, Texas |
| Cydney Tibbitts | Westminster (Utah) | F | Sr. | Pasco, Wash. |
| Aliesha Carruthers | Wiley (Texas) | F | Sr. | Houston, Texas |
| Honorable Mention | ||||
| Name | Institution | |||
| LaKenya Drayton | Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | |||
| Alisha Fanshier | Baker (Kan.) | |||
| Justice Payne | Benedictine (Kan.) | |||
| Jasmine Taylor | Bethel (Tenn.) | |||
| Anna Brooke Page | Blue Mountain (Ky.) | |||
| Gabby Harvey | Brenau (Ga.) | |||
| Mackenzie Lee | Campbellsville (Ky.) | |||
| Ralyn Nuss | Central Methodist (Mo.) | |||
| Crystal Chaney | Coastal Georgia | |||
| Lily Abreu | Columbia (Mo.) | |||
| Dace Bicane | Cumberlands (Ky.) | |||
| Jazzmin Smith | Dillard (La.) | |||
| Kaylyn Young | Emmanuel (Ga.) | |||
| Sierra McSpadden | Evangel (Mo.) | |||
| Christina Hayes | Faulkner (Ala.) | |||
| Maria Bagwell | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | |||
| Ashley Hurd-Spencer | Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) | |||
| Andrina Rendon | Hope International (Calif.) | |||
| Jenna Adams | Lee (Tenn.) | |||
| Annie Kane | Lewis Clark (Idaho) | |||
| Jenna Diakos | LSU Shreveport (La.) | |||
| Sharde Henry | LSU Shreveport (La.) | |||
| Kelsey Canavan | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | |||
| Phagen Altom | Lyon (Ark.) | |||
| Jessy Christopher | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | |||
| Kourtni Williams | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | |||
| Stephanie Malone | Mid-Continent (Ky.) | |||
| Sammi Bignell | Montana Western | |||
| Zbeyda Aremi | Oklahoma Baptist | |||
| Desiree Jeffries | Oklahoma City | |||
| Nashae Owens | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | |||
| Nikkia Davis | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | |||
| Courtney Ward | Peru State (Neb.) | |||
| Uniqua Hampton | Robert Morris (Ill.) | |||
| Logan Froese | Roger's State (Okla.) | |||
| Sierra Cornwell | Roger's State (Okla.) | |||
| Brittany Daniel | San Diego Christian (Calif.) | |||
| Sabrina Scott | Southern New Orleans (La.) | |||
| Amber Arceneaux-Francis | St. Thomas (Texas) | |||
| Lena Rivera | The Master's (Calif.) | |||
| Chasity Kearney | Tougaloo (Miss.) | |||
| Portia Craft | Tougaloo (Miss.) | |||
| Chelsea Cluesman | UVA-Wise (Va.) | |||
| Kierra Patterson | Vorhees (S.C.) | |||
| Esther Lee | Westmont (Calif.) | |||
| Kelsie Sampson | Westmont (Calif.) | |||
| Cheyenne Childers | Williams Baptist (Ark.) | |||
| Courtney Sturdivant | WVU Tech | |||
| SiMon Franklin | Xavier (La.) | |||
| * 2012 First Team All-American | ||||
| ^ 2012 Second Team All-American | ||||
| % 2012 Third Team All-American | ||||
