LEVELLAND — After compiling one of the most successful seasons in program history, four members of the South Plains College women's basketball team garnered individual honors on Monday including Gabbie Green who was named the Most Valuable Player for the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and the Region V Player of the Year.
Averaging 14. 8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, Green has done it all this season, guiding the Lady Texans to a 28-4 record and a No. 1 national ranking for the first time in program history. A 5-foot-7 second-year guard from Bellville, Texas, Green has scored in double figures 22 times this season including a career-high 34 points on Jan. 31 against conference foe Midland College at the Chaparral Center. Green will look to close out her career in Levelland in prime fashion at the NJCAA Women's Basketball National Tournament March 18-23 at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock.
Joining Green on the All-Region and All-Conference teams is Keke Hunter, a six-foot sophomore from Hot Springs, Arkansas who leads the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game. Shooting a team-high 59.3 percent from the field, Hunter has recorded 19 double-doubles this season and ranks 12th nationally with 330 total rebounds. Hunter has tallied at least 20 points nine times this season, most notably a 34 point, 12-rebound performance against Palo Alto on Nov. 16.
First-year standout Sarah Shematsi was also named an All-Region selection as well as the Freshman of the Year in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. A 6-foot-2 forward from France who has shown the ability to be a consistent threat from the outside, Shematsi averages 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 45 percent from the field. Shematsi scored in double figures 21 times this season, including a 20-point performance against then-No. 1 New Mexico Junior College in which she finished 7 of 12 from the floor and was 6 of 10 from behind the arc.
Leading one of the top defenses in the country, freshman Caroline Germond's efforts went far from unnoticed as the 5-foot-7 guard from France was tabbed as the Western Junior College Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Germond has been instrumental in the Lady Texan's success on the defensive end which ranks fifth nationally, allowing just 51.5 points per game. Germond has caused opposing offenses headaches all year, racking up 89 steals for the Lady Texans which ranks 20th in the NJCAA.