ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Emory & Henry College Women's Basketball Team has seen two of its players recognized on the All-South Atlantic Conference Teams, SAC officials announced Monday. The teams were released in conjunction with the conclusion of the 2023-24 regular season and are voted on by the league's 13 head coaches.
Sophomore forward Breanna Yarber (Meadowview, Va.) was picked to the All-SAC Third Team while freshman forward Gracyn Hall (Randleman, N.C.) was chosen to the SAC All-Freshman Team.
RELATED – 2023-24 All-SAC Women's Basketball Awards
Yarber becomes the first E&H woman to earn multiple All-SAC accolades as she made it on the SAC All-Freshman Team a year ago. This season, she led the Wasps in scoring at 18.1 points per game which was good for fourth in the league. She led the SAC with 2.3 blocks per game and was third-best in shooting at 53.7 percent from the field.
Missing eight games due to injury, she started 18 of the 20 contests in which she played, scoring in double figures 17 times. She reached the 20-point mark six times and eclipsed the 30-point plateau on three separate occasions. On January 3, she tied the Emory & Henry record with 38 points against Tusculum University. Yarber had nine games with six or more rebounds and nine games with three or more blocks. For the second year in a row, she broke the school record for blocks in a game with 45.
Hall makes it two years in a row that the Wasps have had a player on the SAC All-Freshman Team. She started all 27 games in which she played averaging 8.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per outing, adding 26 assists, 14 steals and 11 blocks on the year while shooting 83.9 percent from the free throw line. Hall scored in double figures on 13 different occasions with a season-high of 17 points against Newberry College (Jan. 27). She tallied five double-doubles during the campaign, pulling down 13 boards against Tusculum (Jan. 3) and Newberry (Jan. 27).
Emory & Henry posted a 10-18 mark on the year with a 5-15 record in conference play. The Wasps finished 11th in the league for the second straight season after being chosen 13th in the preseason poll. E&H swept the season series with Tusculum while also earning league wins over Limestone University, Newberry and the University of Virginia's College at Wise.
Catawba College's Lyrik Thorne was selected as SAC Player of the Year and SAC Defensive Player of the Year. The SAC Newcomer of the Year was Zamiya Passmore from Anderson University while the SAC Freshman of the Year was Kamari Thompson of Coker University. Catawba Head Coach Terence McCutcheon was chosen as SAC Coach of the Year by his peers.
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2023-24 SAC Women's Basketball
All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year - Lyrik Thorne, Catawba
Defensive Player of the Year - Lyrik Thorne, Catawba
Newcomer of the Year - Zamiya Passmore, Anderson
Freshman of the Year - Kamari Thompson, Coker
Coach of the Year - Terrence McCutcheon, Catawba
First Team
Blaikley Crooks, Lenoir-Rhyne
Emily Hege, Wingate
Diamond McDowell, Anderson
Lindsey Taylor, Carson-Newman
Lyrik Thorne, Catawba
Braelyn Wykle, Carson-Newman
Second Team
Hannah Clark, Wingate
Janiya Downs, Catawba
Lauren Flowers, Lincoln Memorial
Emily Harman, Lenoir-Rhyne
Zamiya Passmore, Anderson
Caitlyn Ross, Virginia-Wise
Third Team
Maddie Gillie, Mars Hill
Kalisha Hill, Limestone
Mikeba Jones, Lenoir-Rhyne
Jordan Maney, Lincoln Memorial
Sara McIntosh, Catawba
Breanna Yarber, Emory & Henry
All-Freshman
Trinity Breedlove, Wingate
Ni'Kiah Chesterfield, Tusculum
Gracyn Hall, Emory & Henry
Tateyoina Harris, Mars Hill
Kamari Thompson, Coker
Statistical Champions
Points Per Game – Lyrik Thorne, Catawba; 20.2
Three-Pointers Per Game – Maddie Gillie, Mars Hill; 3.28
Rebounds Per Game – Kamari Thompson, Coker; 11.6
Blocked Shots Per Game – Breanna Yarber, Emory & Henry; 2.25
Field Goal Percentage – Lindsey Taylor, Carson-Newman; 62.9
Assists Per Game – Zamiya Passmore, Anderson; 6.6
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Tori Rutherford, Carson-Newman; 2.32
Steals Per Game – Dasia Lambert, Coker; 2.58
Three-Point Field Goal Percentage – Emily Hege, Wingate; 50.8
Free Throw Percentage – Hannah Clark, Wingate; 92.2
Team Scoring Offense – Anderson; 78.1
Team Steals Per Game – Carson-Newman; 12
Team Field Goal Percentage – Anderson; 43.8
Team FG Percentage Defense – Carson-Newman; 37.2
Team Assists Per Game – Carson-Newman; 18.4
Team Rebounds Per Game – Mars Hill; 43.48
Team Blocks Per Game – Carson-Newman; 4.7
Team Three-Point FG Percentage – Wingate; 41.5
Team Scoring Defense – Lenoir-Rhyne; 61
Team Free Throw Percentage – Wingate; 81.1
Team Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – Carson-Newman; 1.20