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Women's Basketball
Mitchell and Murray earn All-Conference accolades
March 5, 2008
Atlantic 10 All-Conference Honors ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - St. Bonaventure women's basketball sophomore Dana Mitchell and junior Katelyn Murray each have been cited by the Atlantic 10 Conference with postseason honors Wednesday in voting conducted by the league's head coaches. After being tabbed to the preseason All-Conference third team, Mitchell was selected to the All-Conference second team following a season in which she paced the A-10 in scoring in just her second year. Murray earned a spot on the Academic All-Conference team for her third honor of 2007-08 awarding her performance on the floor and in the classroom. Mitchell becomes the first Bonnie to be named to the second team since Stefanie Collins' selection in 2004-05 and just the seventh player in program history to make the second squad. In just her second season with the Brown and White, Mitchell captured the A-10 scoring title after averaging a league-high 18.2 points per game. She is just the third Bonnie and fifth sophomore ever to pace the conference in scoring as she quickly approaches the 1,000 point mark with 921 career points in only 59 games. Mitchell exploded for a career-high 34 points earlier this season at Cornell. The Fairless Hills, Pa. product has scored in double digits in every game this season but one with 11 20-point contests in 2007-08 to rank second in the A-10. Mitchell is also one of only three players in the league to sit among the top 15 in points, field goal percentage (.476/11th) and free throw percentage (.811/6th). She has proved to be a presence on the glass as well by pulling down a team-best 6.4 rebounds per contest for the 13th highest average in the league. The 6-1 forward boasts six double-doubles this season with a career-high of 12 caroms on two occasions.
Mitchell garnered one A-10 Player of the Week award this season after capturing four Rookie of the Week honors last year en route to an All-Rookie team selection in 2006-07. She was one of five underclassmen to earn All-Conference honors this season.
Murray picks up her first A-10 postseason distinction and the Bonnies second straight and 14th all-time Academic All-Conference selection. In her third year at St. Bonaventure, Murray carries a 4.0 grade point average in biology while posting a career-best 10.1 points per game on the court. The Harrisburg, Pa. native is in the midst of her best season on the floor, while developing into one of the best three-point shooters in school history. She ranks second on the club in scoring and leads the Brown and White with 51 triples thanks to a .389 conversion rate from behind the arc that ranks ninth in the A-10. Her 134 career trifectas rank fifth all-time in the Bona record books with one year remaining. Murray has reached double figures in 14 contests this season with three games of at least 20 points, including a career-high 22 tallies at Canisius. Murray's academic prowess hasn't gone unnoticed this year as she became the second Bonnie in program history to earn Academic All-America honors as she was selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America third team. She was one of three players to be chosen to the three Academic All-America teams with a perfect mark in the classroom. Murray was eligible for All-America honors after being named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District I first team earlier this season. Mitchell, Murray and the rest of the Bonnies will return to action on Friday, March 7 in the Opening Round of the Atlantic 10 Championship against Rhode Island at 4:00 p.m. St. Bonaventure will look to avenge a 56-48 loss to the Rams on January 19 of this season at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse on the campus of Saint Joseph's University. |
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