FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2007
Contact:  Dwayne Hanberry, SCAC Associate Commissioner

DePauw's Bondi; Huffman head 2006-07 All-SCAC
Women's Basketball selections

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - In exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), and for the second consecutive year, DePauw University senior forward Liz Bondi was selected as SCAC Women’s Basketball Player-of-the-Year and her head coach Kris Huffman was named SCAC Coach-of-the-Year. DePauw’s Kalei Lowes made it three major awards for the DU Tigers as she was selected the league’s Defensive Player-of-the-Year.

The coaches also voted on Newcomer-of-the-Year, and first-year forward Katy Williams of Austin College took home that award.

Bondi becomes the fourth consecutive DePauw women’s player to earn the league’s highest honor following Amy Argetsinger, who was also a back-to-back winner in 2004 and 2005. Bondi is now one of four players to win the women’s basketball POTY honor in consecutive years. The senior forward finished the regular season averaging 16.1 points (fifth in the SCAC), 6.0 rebounds (12th), 1.61 steals (14th) and 0.74 blocks per game (tied for ninth) and was also eighth in free throw percentage (76.8%) and led the league in field goal percentage (62.0%) for the second consecutive year. She was also second in all of Division III in the category. Bondi currently ranks eighth in DePauw school history in points scored and free throws made, fifth in blocks and second in field goal percentage. The POTY honor is the fourth overall for Bondi, who has also been named the SCAC Women’s Tennis Player-of-the-Year the last two seasons. Only two other SCAC student-athletes have won four or more POTY honors over the course of their careers.

Huffman, in her 14th season as DePauw’s head women’s basketball coach, led the 2006-07 Tigers to the program’s 10th 20-plus win season in the last 11 years. The team has made seven NCAA Championship appearances in the last 11 seasons and the 11th-ranked Tigers are a near lock to earn a eighth trip this year. The winningest coach in DePauw history, Huffman has posted a 295-82 career overall record (through the end of the 2006-07 regular season) and a 161-27 mark in conference games. This is the fifth time Huffman has been named the SCAC COTY – the most of any other women’s basketball coach in league history.

DePauw’s Lowes was the top defender for the team that led the SCAC in scoring defense during the regular season. The Tigers also ranked third in field goal percentage defense and second in turnover margin behind the defensive leadership of Lowes. Also an offensive threat, Lowes shot 51.9% from three-point range (28 of 54) and averaged 6.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

Williams of Austin led all SCAC first-year players in rebounding (8.6 rpg – third among all players) and was second among league rookies in scoring (12.5 ppg – 12th in the SCAC). She finished second among all players in field goal percentage, sinking 58.6% of her shots from the floor. Williams, who had seven double-doubles in 23 games, was the only first-year player to garner a Player-of-the-Week award this season (Week 9).

Joining Bondi on the All-SCAC First Team are senior guard Tori Huggins and senior forward Bonnie Hicks of Hendrix College, junior guard Ashley Farrell of Rhodes College and sophomore guard Katie Kulavic of Oglethorpe University.

A DIII News preseason All-American selection, Huggins led the SCAC in scoring for the second consecutive year, averaging an SCAC single-season record 23.5 points per game. Huggins finished the season with 609 points, the most points scored in a single season by any men’s or women’s basketball player in league history. She was also 13th in the conference in rebounding, 10th in field goal percentage, 12th in steals, third in three-point field goal percentage, third in three-point field goals made and led the league in free throw percentage (88.2%). Huggins finished her career with a SCAC record 1,844 points. Hicks averaged 18.4 points (second in the SCAC) and 5.8 rebounds (15th in the SCAC) per game during the regular season and was the inside presence that both complimented Huggins and made life tough for Hendrix opponents. Hicks was also fourth in the league in field goal percentage and finished her career as the Warriors’ all-time leader in the category. She scored in double-figures in 23 of the Warriors’ 25 games and had 20+ points sixteen times. Farrell finished the regular season fourth in the SCAC in scoring (18.2 ppg) and became the first player since 2002-03 to post three 35+ scoring performances in a single season. She was also fifth in the league in assists, second in free throw percentage, seventh in three-point field goal percentage, 11th in field goal percentage and led the SCAC in steals (3.3 per game). Kulavic, who has been a First Team selection each of her first two seasons in the league, finished the regular season sixth in the league in scoring at 14.4 points per game. She was also fourth in assists and steals and sixth in both field goal percentage and free throw percentage. The super sophomore scored in double figures in 20 of her team’s 25 games.