Ball State University Athletics
Three Cardinals Receive All-MAC WBB Honors
March 09, 2015 | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Three members of the Ball State women's basketball team were honored Monday when the Mid-American Conference announced its annual post-season awards. For the second straight season, junior forward Nathalie Fontaine was named First Team All-MAC, while sophomore Jill Morrison was selected to Third Team All-MAC for the first time in her career and freshman forward Moriah Monaco earned a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team.
This marks the fourth time Ball State has placed at least three players on All-MAC squads int he same season, with the three other being 2008-09, 2007-08 and 1982-83.
A four-time MAC West Divsion Player of the Week honoree this season, Fontaine currently ranks sixth on Ball State's all-time scoring list with 1,469 career points. She became the second fastest player in program history to reach Ball State's 1,000-Point Club this season after a 21-point performance against Purdue, Nov. 14 in Worthen Arena. Fontaine has scored in double figures in 27 of Ball State's 29 games this season and 83 times out of 95 games in her career. She has earned eight double-doubles this season and has 17 for her career. She ranks 12th all-time in rebounds at Ball State with 637. Fontaine has scored 20- or- more points 20 times in her career. She currently leads the team in scoring (16.3) and ranks fifth in scoring in the MAC averaging 16.7 points per game in league action.
This is the first All-MAC accolade for Morrison. Morrison ranks second on the team in scoring (11.3), first in three pointers made (72), first in steals (41), first in assists (82) and first in free throw percentage (.829). She earned her first MAC West Division Weekly honor for the week of Nov. 24. Morrison played a big role in the Cardinals' two wins last week over Central Michigan and Toledo. She scored 19 points against the Chippewas and then ended the MAC regular season with a game-high 20 points in a win over Toledo. She tied her career-high with six 3-point field goals on eight attempts and added seven rebounds versus the Rockets. For the week, Morrison averaged 19.5 points per game, 5.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists while shooting .632 from the field, .647 from behind the arc and went perfect from the charity stripe.
In Monaco's first start this season against Oakland, Dec. 6 she scored 13 points off of 5-of-8 shooting from the field while knocking down 3-of-5 three pointers for the contest. The true freshman only turned the ball over once for the entire 26 minutes she played. Monaco scored a career-best 19 points at home versus Kent State off of 8-of-10 shooting, Jan. 14. She had a 14-point performance at Central Michigan, March 4. Monaco has been a key contributor off the bench for Ball State in MAC play averaging 7.3 points, making 23 three pointers, dishing out 22 assists and averaging 16.9 minutes per game.
The Ball State University women's basketball team (17-12, 13-5 MAC) received a bye to the semi-final round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament, which starts Friday in Cleveland, Ohio. The four-time MAC West Divisional champion Cardinals could face either No. 11 Kent State, No. 10 Miami, No. 7 Toledo, No. 6 Eastern Michigan or No. 3 Akron Friday at 2:30 in Quicken Loans Arena.
2014-15 All-Mid-American Conference First Team
Sina King, Akron, F
Nathalie Fontaine, Ball State, F
Amanda Corral, Northern Illinois, G
Kiyanna Black, Ohio, G
Inma Zanoguera, Toledo, G
2014-15 All-Mid-American Conference Second Team
Anita Brown, Akron, G
Kristen Sharkey, Buffalo, F
Crystal Bradford, Central Michigan, G/F
Cha Sweeney, Eastern Michigan, G
Miracle Woods, Western Michigan, F/C
2014-15 All-Mid-American Conference Third Team
Hannah Plybon, Akron, G
Jill Morrison, Ball State, G
Mackenzie Loesing, Buffalo, G
CiCi Shannon, Kent State, C
Quiera Lampkins, Ohio, F
2014-15 All-Mid-American Conference Honorable Mention
Deborah Hoekstra, Bowling Green, G
Christa Baccas, Buffalo, C/F
Da'Jourie Turner, Central Michigan, G
Mariah Byard, Ohio, G
Brenae Harris, Toledo, G
2014-15 Mid-American Conference All-Freshman Team
Kerri McMahan, Akron, G
Moriah Monaco, Ball State, G
Baleigh Reid, Miami, G
Kelly Smith, Northern Illinois, F
Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott, Toledo, G
2014-15 Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year
Christa Baccas, Buffalo, C/F
2014-15 Mid-American Conference Sixth Player of the Year
Mackenzie Loesing, Buffalo, G
