Griffin Named ODAC Coach Of The Year, Ygarza & Sykes Honored

(l-r) EMU Coach Kevin Griffin was earned his second Coach of the Year honor in eight seasons, while Bianca Ygarza was named All-ODAC First Team and Shakeerah Sykes was named All-ODAC Second Team. (photos by Wayne Gehman)

EMU women's basketball coach Kevin Griffin has been named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Royals to their best-ever finish in conference play.  Junior forward Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) earned a repeat selection to the All-ODAC First Team, while sophomore Shakeerah Sykes (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park) was named All-ODAC Second Team.

Eastern Mennonite finished first in the league at 15-1, besting their previous best ODAC finish of 13-1 from 1984-85.  Aside from the win total, a big accomplishment for Griffin was melding a stable full of talented players into a balanced team, as eight women average between 6.5 and 10.1 points.  Griffin earns his second ODAC Coach of the Year award in eight years at the helm of EMU, as he also won in 2006-07.  Griffin has won 135 career games to date, and leads his Royals in search of their third ODAC title.

Ygarza was named All-ODAC First Team for the second straight year, as she led the women's attack with 10.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.  The multi-faceted Ygarza is also second on the team with 2.1 assists per game and enters the postseason in the ODAC's top 17 in 10 different categories.

All-ODAC Second Teamer Sykes, who gave up her starting spot to Ygarza this season, has been an explosive presence coming off the bench for EMU.  She is averaging 10.0 points and 6.2 rebounds and leads the ODAC with a 53.4% shooting clip.  Sykes is also first in the league at 24.7 points per 48 minutes.

The Royals enter the postseason on a 12-game winning streak, which is tied for the longest in program history.  Top-seeded EMU, 19-5 overall and 15-1 in the ODAC, takes on No. 8 Washington and Lee in the ODAC Quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at 1:00pm.

Bridgewater College guard Jessica Mullen headlines the 2013 All-ODAC Women's Basketball Teams as the Eagles' standout was tabbed the ODAC Player of the Year in a vote of the league's head coaches.  Eastern Mennonite University mentor Kevin Griffin was named the ODAC Coach of the Year, while Randolph-Macon College forward Katie Anderson earned ODAC Rookie of the Year accolades.  Washington and Lee University forward Katy Wilson earned recognition as the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year, in a vote of the conference's sports information directors.

Mullen, a senior guard from Purcellville, Va., is a three-time All-ODAC First Team selection.  An offensive threat, Mullen is currently third in the conference in scoring at 16.2 points per game and fifth in the league in free throw percentage (79.6 % on 74-of-93 shooting).  She has scored double digits in 21-of-24 games this year, including two 28-point outbursts.  She also leads the ODAC in steals with 79.

Anderson, a freshman forward from Beaverdam, Va., has made an immediate impact in Ashland this season.  She is sixth in the ODAC in scoring (14.2ppg) and has scored double-digits in 18 contests, including seven outings of at least 20-points.  Anderson scored a career-high 25 points in just the second game of her collegiate career against Mary Washington.

Wilson, a senior forward from Chattanooga, Tenn., earns her first ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolade, but it marks the third straight for a W&L women's basketball player.  Becca Bolton won the award the previous two years.  A W&L and ODAC scholar-athlete, Wilson sports a 3.692 grade point average as a chemical engineering major.  On the court, she leads W&L in points (11.3ppg) and rebounds (8.0rpg) on her way to All-ODAC Second Team laurels.  Her points per game rank ninth in the ODAC, while her rebounds per night are seventh.  Additionally, Wilson is fifth in the league in blocks (30).

Listed below is the completed list of 2013 All-ODAC Women's Basketball Teams.  For more information, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at @odacathletics.