SHAWNEE, Okla. — Southern Nazarene Women's Basketball proved their dominance throughout the 2022-2023 season, winning the Great American Conference title from a 21-1 conference record and tabbing in as No. 1 seed in the GAC Tournament. SNU's performance made room for a number of GAC awards, received by six total athletes.
Hannah Giddey was the first of the "of-the-year" recipients, racking up the Defensive Player of the Year award, also being named to the All-GAC Second Team list. Head Coach Trent May was the second recipient as he was named the GAC Coach of the Year. Cassandra Awatt and Georgia Adams were the other athletic award recipients. Awatt was an All-GAC First Team selection while Adams was added to the All-GAC Second Team list.
Giddey, a junior out of Melbourne Australia, served as SNU's paint protector, defending her way to one of the the most notable GAC awards. Ranked first nationally and in the GAC for both total blocks (82) and blocks per game (2.9), Giddey has helped SNU become one of the best scoring defenses in the conference. She was also a force in other areas, averaging 11.6 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game while working towards eight double doubles on the year.
Giddey's selection makes it the fourth consecutive year that an SNU member has won the award; SNU's all-time block leader Abby Niehues won the award a in the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2021-2022 seasons season. Giddey's all-around abilities also awarded her the All-GAC Second Team selection.
Awatt, a senior out of Lubbock, Texas, was awarded the All-GAC First Team selection, making this her second consecutive First Team honor. Awatt was a force to be reckoned with all season, averaging 13.5 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game, and shooting just under 45% from the floor, good for 10 total double doubles on the year. Awatt's rebounds per game and double doubles both rank second in the conference.
Adams, a junior out of Perth, Australia, blossomed in the 2022-2023 season, serving as one of SNU's leading offensive weapons as she led the team in points per game with 14.9, also shooting just under 45% from the field. Adams' most notable skill came from the charity stripe where she led the GAC in Free Throw Percentage at 91.4%, putting her at 6th in the nation.
Head Coach Trent May led the Storm to a near-perfect season, overcoming the No. 2 preseason ranking by coaching his way to the Conference Title. During the 2022-2023 season, May guided his bunch to a 24-4 overall record and a 21-1 conference record, including a 14-game win streak the last half of the season. May also celebrated his 400th career win with the Storm, putting him next to Jerry Finkbeiner as just the second SNU Head Coach to achieve the milestone.
SNU also had five members on the Distinguished Scholar Athlete list: Adams, Awatt, Lexie Reihm, Maci Attalla, and Lauryn Reither.
Southern Nazarene looks to keep their success rolling, heading into the GAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, looking to not only win another tournament title, but an automatic bid into the NCAA Central Region Tournament. SNU will began their tournament run at Firelake Arena in Shawnee Thursday, March 2nd at 5:45 p.m. where they will match up with the No. 8 seed Southern Arkansas. A win over the Muleriders will lift SNU to the semifinals game the following Saturday against the winners of Arkansas Tech and Oklahoma Baptist. The championship game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., Sunday afternoon.
Full All-GAC List
