OKLAHOMA CITY -- Four members of the John Brown University women's basketball team earned honors, including a second team nomination for junior Tarrah Stephens, as the Sooner Athletic released its All-Conference teams, the league office announced Thursday (Feb. 24) afternoon.
Sophomore Natalie Smith landed on the league's third team after capturing the SAC's three-point triple crown, while senior Maddie Altman returned to the honorable mention list. Freshman Emily Sanders was one of five student-athletes named to the league's new All-Freshman team.
"I am so proud of all these ladies and the honors they have received," noted head coach Jeff Soderquist. "This is a very special group. With how tough the SAC was this season, this is quite the honor for them."
Stephens landed on the second team for the second-straight season, leading the Golden Eagles in almost every category. The Siloam Springs product averaged 17.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and .9 blocks per contest, and hit the 20-point mark seven times, including a 39-point outing versus Evangel (Mo.) and a record-shattering 45-point performance at Oklahoma Panhanlde State – earning her that week's SAC Player of the Week honors.
Posting the best shooting year of her career, Stephens finished 46 percent from the floor (173-of-373) and collected 172 total rebounds, another single-season career best mark. She now averages over 16 points per game in her three seasons in Siloam Springs.
Smith's first-career All-Conference honors comes after leading the league in every three-point category – including triples made (83), triples per game (3.1) and three-point shooting efficiency (44.9 percent). The Bentonville native scored a career-high 28 points versus Oklahoma City and shot a career best 7-of-13 behind the arc versus Langston (Okla.). Smith scored in double-figures 19 times and cross the 20-point mark on three occasions.
Averaging nearly 29 minutes per game, Smith shot 45.6 percent overall (131-of-287) and totaled 14.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and over one steal and assist per game in 2021-22.
Altman had herself a career season in every single significant category. Shooting 45.8 percent (87-of-190) from the floor and 42.9 percent from behind the arc (33-of-77), the Littleton, Colo. native scored a career-high 19 points at Texas Wesleyan and passed out a career-best 10 assists versus Evangel (Mo.). Altman finished in the league in assists per game (4.7) and averaged 9.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She also posted a career-best 44 steals (1.6 per game).
After redshirting last season, Sanders kicked off her collegiate career by averaging 8.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Scoring a career-high 16 points versus Oklahoma City, the product of Bentonville hit double-digit scoring nine times this season and led all Sooner Athletic guards with 21 blocks.
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