UNA WOMEN
IMPROVE WIN TOTAL BY NINE GAMES, SET NEW RECORDS IN FOWLERS FIRST
SEASON
FLORENCE
– The recent release of the final women’s basketball statistics at
the NCAA Division II level revealed that University of North Alabama
sophomore Amber Rutherford is the national champion in free throw
percentage during the 2006-07 season.
The post player
from Hatton sank 134-of-143 free throws on the year for a 93.7
percentage. That total was just .4 ahead of SIU-Edwardsville’s
Whitney Sykes, who hit 93.3 percent of her shots, going 112-of-120
from the foul line.
Rutherford’s
accomplishment was just one of many bright spots for the Lions, who
improved their win total by nine games in head coach Terry Fowler’s
first season. As a team, the UNA women broke or tied nine team and
individual school records at the single-game and single-season
levels.
After the Lions
finished the 2005-06 season with a 5-22 record, Fowler went 14-14 in
his first campaign, leading the team to its first appearance in the
Gulf South Conference tournament in four seasons. UNA also finished
second in the league’s East Division and had a team member win
conference player-of-the-week honors four times.
Rutherford
placed her name in the UNA record books several times. Her 16-for-16
free throw performance on Feb. 20 against West Georgia set new
records for most free throws in a game, as well as best free throw
percentage. Her NCAA-leading 93.7 percent on the year was also a new
school record.
As a team, the
Lions proved everyone could be effective from the foul line. The
team hit 462-of-609 free throws on the year for a new school record
of 75.9 percent.
UNA also set
several new marks on the year from beyond the three-point line. The
Lions set new team records for most three-point attempts (577) and
most three-pointers made (199) during the season. The team had one
of its best nights ever from three-point range on Feb. 24 against
Alabama-Huntsville. The Lions hit 14 three-pointers in the game,
breaking the previous record of 13, which had stood for 15 years.
Shay Ashford
also had a night to remember from three-point range. Her seven treys
against Ouachita Baptist on Jan. 3 tied a school record for most in
a game. Chelsey Malone also tied a school record after attempting
179 three-point shots on the year.
The Lions will
hope to build on their recent success heading into next season. The
team will return the bulk of its lettermen, including all five
starters. |
