YSU Women's Basketball

YSU Women's Basketball Youngstown State
Women's Basketball Digest
YSU Women's Basketball

Boldon, Brown Earn Top Horizon League Women’s Basketball Honors; Davis Named to Newcomer Team
by YSU
Monday, Mar 11, 2013 7:17 pm

The Youngstown State women's basketball team is having its best season in 13 years, and head coach Bob Boldon and senior forward Brandi Brown have earned the Horizon League's top honors in leading the Penguins to a second-place finish in the regular-season standings.

Boldon was voted the Horizon League Coach of the Year, and Brown was voted the Horizon League Player of the Year and first-team all-conference. Boldon is YSU's first conference coach of the year since Ed DiGregorio was the Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year in 1998-99. Brown is the first Penguin to earn conference player-of-the-year accolades since Brianne Kenneally was the Mid-Con Player of the Year in 1999-2000. Brown, a native of Pomona, Calif., is also the first Penguin to be a first-team all-conference pick since Jen Perugini in 2004-05.

Shar'Rae Davis, a freshman from Grand Haven, Mich., was voted onto the all-newcomer team. Brown was YSU's last newcomer team selection in 2009-10.

Boldon has led the Penguins to an 11-win improvement from last season and a second-place finish in the Horizon League regular-season standings. YSU finished 10th in the conference last season and was picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll. The Penguins have improved their RPI from last season by 197, which is the best improvement in the country. YSU has set a school record with 11 Horizon League victories, and its 21-8 record is a program best since 1999-2000. Boldon was hired in April 2010 and inherited a program that had gone 0-30 the previous season.

Brown has capped off one of the best careers in Horizon League history with a memorable senior campaign. In addition to being YSU's leader on and off the court, Brown averaged 20.5 points and 11.3 rebounds during the regular season, ranking her among the nation's best in both categories. She was the espnW National Player of the Week last week as she averaged 40.5 points and 17 rebounds in home wins over Wright State and UIC. She owns the fourth and 10th-highest scoring games in the country this season with her 42 and 39-point efforts against the Raiders and Flames. For her career, Brown is one of four players in league history to surpass 2,000 career points, and she is the only player to also reach 1,200 career rebounds. Also a standout in the classroom, she became YSU's first female First-Team Capital One Academic All-American earlier this season.

Davis finished the regular season ranking second in the Horizon League in assists after leading the category for most of the season. She finished with 4.4 assists per game, and her 127 assists are the second-most ever by a YSU freshman. Additionally, her 4.4 assists per game are the second-most in the country by a freshman. Davis added 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. She posted season highs of 23 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and she collected her first double-double at Loyola with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Davis was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Week twice during the season.

Brown was joined on the first team by Cleveland State's Shalonda Winton, Detroit's Shareta Brown, Green Bay's Adrian Ritchie and Loyola's Simone Law. Taylor Johnson (Loyola), Rachel Story (UIC), Ivory James (Wright State) and Rosanna Reynolds (Detroit) joined Davis on the all-newcomer team.

Johnson was the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, and Winton was voted the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year. Detroit's Yar Shayok was named the league's Sixth Person of the Year.

The all-league teams were voted on by the league's coaches, women's basketball sports information directors and select media.

Youngstown State begins Horizon League Tournament play on Wednesday against Cleveland State at 7:05 p.m. at Beeghly Center.

Boldon, Brown Earn Top Horizon League Women’s Basketball Honors; Davis Named to Newcomer Team
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