Eastern Michigan Athletics
Coleman and Knapp Selected Preseason All-MAC
10/27/2005 2:11:20 PM | Women's Basketball
Cleveland, Ohio – Seniors Ryan Coleman (Detroit, Mich.-CMA) and Nikki Knapp (Blue Springs, Mo.-Blue Springs South) garnered preseason All-Mid-American Conference honors for the second consecutive year, the league office announced today. Voting was conducted among members of the MAC News Media Association and included five honorees from each division.
Ten returning All-MAC players make up the team, with the West Division squad headed up by Coleman and Knapp. The rest of the team includes Danielle Bishop of Toledo, Carrie Moore of Western Michigan and Stephanie Raymond of Northern Illinois. Moore and Coleman were first team All-MAC selections last year while Bishop, Knapp and Raymond were third team honorees.
Defending MAC Champion Bowling Green is represented by two selections in Ali Mann and Liz Honegger as is defending East Division title holder Kent State with Lindsay Shearer and Malika Willoughby. The five member team is rounded out with Miami’s Cindi Merrill.
Coleman and Knapp helped the Eagles to a 23-8 overall record and an 11-5 MAC mark. The Green and White’s 23 wins were the most in program history and marked EMU’s first-ever back-to-back 20-win seasons. The Eagles made their second consecutive national postseason tournament appearance, with a berth in the 2005 Postseason Sportsview.tv Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
Coleman finished second in the MAC in scoring (17.9), seventh in assists (3.68), 12th in rebounding (6.7), second in three-point field goal percentage (.425), fourth in steals (2.58) and ninth in free throw percentage (.804). Knapp ranked among league leaders, including 12th in scoring (14.0), eighth in rebounding (7.3) and third in field goal percentage (.525).
Moore finished second in the league last year in rebounding (8.2), third in scoring (17.6) and fi fth in assists (3.75), 12th in fi eld goal percentage (.417) and second in minutes played (37.2). Moore followed her all-freshmen selection in 2004 with fi rst-team all-MAC honors in 2005 as well as the top individual player award.
Bishop and Raymond both are third-team all-conference members from last year. Bishop led the Rockets in scoring (14.8), which ranked 10th in the MAC. In MAC only games she posted 15.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals. Raymond, at 5-feet, 5-inches tall, paced the Huskies with a 15.5 scoring average, the eighth highest point total in the MAC.
2005 Women’s Basketball Preseason All-MAC Team, Page 2
Shearer is the lone first-team All-MAC player on the East squad. The senior marked her name in the MAC recordbook with a league-record and MAC tournament record 44 points in the 2005 MAC Tournament championship game vs. Bowling Green. On the season Shearer’s 17.2 ppg ranked fourth among MAC players and she was also fourth in field goal percentage (.477) and 11th in rebounding (7.1). Willoughby, her teammate on the Golden Flashes, was tabbed as MAC Defensive Player of the Year after finishing second in the league in steals (2.9). Willoughby headed an effort that resulted in KSU topping the MAC in scoring defense (57.3 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.382) and three-point field goal defense (.303).
Mann and Honegger teamed to spark BG to 23 wins as well as the MAC regular season and tournament championships. Honegger was second in the league in blocked shots (1.69), third in rebounding (8.1) and 11th in scoring (14.5). Mann’s 13.8 ppg was the 13th highest total in the conference and she ranked fifth in field goal percentage (.467). Both were second team All-MAC honorees in 2005.
Merrill was named second-team All-MAC for the second consecutive season. Merrill posted the fifth best scoring average in the MAC in 2005 with 17.1 ppg and led the RedHawks in scoring in 18 of the team’s 29 games.
The All-MAC preseason selections will be at MAC Women’s Basketball Media Day scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cleveland, Ohio from 1-3 p.m. All 12 MAC head coaches will be available for interviews at that same time. The MNMA preseason poll will also be announced at media day.
The Eagles open the season at home, hosting Central Connecticut State University, Nov. 18, in a game that will be part of a doubleheader with the men’s team hosting the University of California.
2005-06 Preseason All-MAC Team
West DivisionName Yr. Pos. Hometown
Ryan Coleman, Eastern Michigan Sr. G Detroit, Mich.
Nikki Knapp, Eastern Michigan Sr. F Blue Springs, Mo.
Danielle Bishop, Toledo Jr. G Laingsburg, Mich.
Carrie Moore, Western Michigan Jr. G Lathrup, Mich.
Stephanie Raymond, Northern Ill. Jr. G Rockford, Ill.
East Division
Name Yr. Pos. Hometown
Liz Honegger, Bowling Green Jr. F Lafayette, Ind.
Ali Mann, Bowling Green Jr. F Chelsea, Mich.
Lindsay Shearer, Kent State Sr. F Minerva, Ohio
Malika Willoughby, Kent State Sr. G Milwaukee, Wis.
Cindi Merrill, Miami Sr. G Noblesville, Ind.
