Givens Voted Sun Belt Player of the Year; Stovall and Horton Honored

"Chrissy is a special player and a special person," said Head Coach Rick Insell. "She is a unique individual to be able to excel not only on the court but in the classroom and basically carry this very young basketball team."

Givens was also named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, making her just the second player in Sun Belt history to be awarded both of these honors in the same year. The last Sun Belt Player to do so was Amanda Wilson from Louisiana Tech in 1998. The Monroe, Louisiana native led the Sun Belt in scoring with 22.1 points per game was first in steals (3.19) and fourth in assists (4.37). Givens was also voted to the Sun Belt All-Conference First Team.

"I was so surprised when Coach [Rick] Insell told me I was player of the year." Givens said. "Basically all of these honors I have received are a credit to the coaching staff and my teammates who have believed in me all year."

Teammates Tia Stovall and Krystle Horton were also honored by the league.

Stovall, a senior forward from Estill Spring, was voted to the Sun Belt All-Conference Third team. She is ranked third in the Sun Belt in field goal percentage at 50.5 and ranks third on the team in scoring with 9.4 points per game.

Horton, a junior forward from Murfreesboro, joins Stovall on the Sun Belt All-Conference Third Team. She ranks second in the Sun Belt in field goal percentage at 52.2 and is second on the team in points with 11.4 points per game.

"Krystle and Tia are also very deserving of their honors," Insell said. "We as a coaching staff are very appreciative of the hard work and effort these two players have put into the program.

Middle Tennessee places the most players on the All-Conference for either men or women. It is also the sixth straight season the Blue Raiders have placed two or more players on the postseason all-conference list.

The Blue Raiders take their No. 2 seed into the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championships on Saturday after receiving a first-round bye. Middle Tennessee will face Louisiana-Lafayette, the No. 3 seed from the West, at 11 a.m. in the Murphy Center.

2005-06 ALL-SUN BELT CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

1ST TEAM Adrianne Davie, Arkansas State; Chrissy Givens, Middle Tennessee; Lasma Jekabsone, Florida International; Crystal Kelly, Western Kentucky; Tiffany Porter-Talbert, Western Kentucky

2ND TEAM Erika Bobo, North Texas; Yolanda Jones Louisiana-Lafayette; Jocelyn Love, Arkansas-Little Rock Rudy Sims, Arkansas State; JoAnna Williams, South Alabama

3RD TEAM Venice Adams, Denver; Mia Ajekwu, North Texas; Krystle Horton, Middle Tennessee; Tia Stovall, Middle Tennessee; Whitney Woodard, South Alabama

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chrissy Givens, Middle Tennessee

DEF. PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chrissy Givens, Middle Tennessee

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Yolanda Jones, Louisiana-Lafayette

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Renee Renz, Arkansas-Little Rock

COACH OF THE YEAR: Mary Taylor-Cowles, Western Kentucky