Men’s basketball is in the national news as the Division II Bulletin ranks the men’s program number 8 in the nation and selects senior Ben Madgen to the preseason All-American team.
Augusta State’s Jessica Howard was named the Peach Belt Conference’s Player of the Week Monday afternoon, according to an announcement from the league office.
The selection marks the second preseason national honor for Madgen, who earned national accolades from The Sporting News earlier this month. A 6-4, 185-pound guard from Williamstown, Australia, Madgen ranks as the fourth-leading scorer in ASU history and fifth-leading scorer in Peach Belt Conference history with 1,670 points. He was named an All-American at the conclusion of his junior season by three different organizations. Madgen helped pace the Jags to the winningest season (2008-09) in school history as they earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass. ASU advanced to the Final Four before bowing out to national runner-up Cal Poly Pomona.
This season, the Jaguars return three starters and nine lettermen from a squad that racked up a school-record 30 wins.
The selection is the second of the season for the senior middle blocker from Athens, Ga., who also earned the award on Aug. 31, 2009. Howard had a monster week as the streaking Jaguars won three in a row to stretch their winning streak to six. The senior averaged 6.67 kills per set in three matches, hitting .541. She hit .545 with 16 kills in a sweep of Clark Atlanta; she then had 20 kills while hitting .529 against UNC Pembroke and 24 kills and a .548 average against Montevallo. She had only seven attack errors in the nine sets and added eight total blocks. She leads the PBC in kills per set and is now up to second in hitting percentage and fifth in blocks. Howard now has 1,573 career kills, sixth on the PBC’s all-time list.
The Jags tip off their 2009-10 schedule with an exhibition vs. Aiken Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Christenberry Field House. ASU opens its regular-season slate at home on Sunday, Nov. 15, vs. West Georgia at 4 p.m.
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2009-2010 Women's Basketball Schedule
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