2020 Big West Women's Basketball All-Conference Release
History is the theme of the 2019-20 edition of the Big West major awards as all of the recipients are cementing their name alongside the giants of league history.
The league’s Player of the Year award went to Cal State Fullerton’s RAINA PEREZ, the latest accolade for a program on the rise. UC Santa Barbara saw one if its freshman have one of the finest debut campaigns in league history, earning ILA LANE the Freshman of the Year honor. Meanwhile UC Davis’ JENNIFER GROSS accomplished something no other coach in Big West history has done as she was named Coach of the Year.
The league also announced the All-Conference lists, highlighted by a six-player first team. UC Riverside’s JANNON
OTTO leads the way with her second straight first team honor, the lone player to repeat as a first team honoree. The full list of All-Conference teams is available in the provided link.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR • RAINA PEREZ, CAL STATE FULLERTON
Redshirt Junior • Guard • Goodyear, Ariz. • Northern Arizona
• Becomes only the second Titan to receive Player of the Year honors following former great Genia Miller in 1990-91.
• Averaging league-high 20.3 points to go along with 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
• Ranks 12th in the NCAA in points per game, 13th in total points (589) and 19th in minutes played per game (37.3).
• Scored in double-figures in all but one game this season.
• Four 30-point games this year, including three career-high 34-point outings.
• Three-time Big West Player of the Week.
• Posted one game of double-digit assists and two games of double-digit rebounds.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR • ILA LANE, UC SANTA BARBARA
Forward/Center • Moraga, Calif. • Woodside Priory School
• First Freshman of the Year winner from UCSB since 2007 and fifth overall, joining Erin Buescher, Lindsay Taylor, Kristen Mann and Jordan Franey.
• Averaging 15.3 points and 13.0 rebounds, the lone player averaging a double-double in the Big West.
• Has posted 19 double-doubles, tops in the Big West and fourth in the NCAA.
• National leader in rebounds per game and second in total rebounds (378).
• In the Big West single-season lists, she is tied for fifth in rebounds per game and eighth in total rebounds.
• Has three 20-rebound games, the only player with a 20-rebound game in the league.
• Also has three games of 20 points and 20 rebounds
• Three-time Big West Player of the Week.
COACH OF THE YEAR • JENNIFER GROSS, UC DAVIS
• Fourth straight Coach of the Year award, first coach in league history to win four straight coaching honors.
• Four Coach of the Year honors is second-most in league history behind UC Santa Barbara’s Mark French (7).
• Led UC Davis to its fourth consecutive Big West regular season title and the fourth straight top seed at the Big West Tournament.
• Four straight titles is longest in the league since UC Santa Barbara won 10 in a row from 1996-2005.
• Aggies have now made the semifinals of the Big West Tournament in six straight seasons under Gross.
• UC Davis has averaged 19 wins in nine-plus seasons under Gross including a three-year run of 25 wins or more.
• UCD has led the league in three-point percentage in four of the last five years and have hit at least 200 threes in every year under Gross.
2019-20 Big West Player of the Year
Raina Perez, Cal State Fullerton
2019-20 Big West Freshman of the Year
Ila Lane, UC Santa Barbara
2019-20 Big West Coach of the Year
Jennifer Gross, UC Davis