April 21, 2007

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton women's basketball team took time out on Friday evening to recognize some of its top performers with post-season awards.

Junior Nikki Oakland and senior Jennifer Strong shared the honor of UD's Most Valuable Player. Freshman Kelly Keil and sophomore Marie Rosche were named the Flyers' Most Improved Players. Freshman Kendel Ross was awarded the R. Elaine Driedame Coaches' Award while junior Karah Cloxton was given the Team Academic Award.

UD Head Coach Jim Jabir also announced three players that will serve as team captains next season. Rising seniors Karah Cloxton, Brittany Holterman and Kiki Lund were named as tri-captains for a squad that finished last year 12-19 overall, but returns four starters, including nine of its top 10 scorers. UD had 15 of its 29 games decided by single digits including four one-point games last season.

Oakland, a forward from San Diego, Cal., ranked third in the Atlantic 10 Conference in blocked shots. Her 49 blocks were the third most in UD single-season history. She became just the third Flyer ever to record 100 career blocked shots and enters her senior season with a chance to take over the all-time lead at UD. Oakland was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 29 points to go along with nine rebounds, four blocks and one steal in 31 minutes of action at Clemson.

Strong, a forward from Warrensville, Ohio, finished her career with a streak of 103 consecutive games started and became just the eighth Flyer ever to record at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. She became the 16th member of UD's 1,000-Point Club with a career-best 24 points at the Blue Sky Classic on Dec. 29. Strong finished her career ranked 13th all-time in scoring, 11th in three-point shooting accuracy as well as free-throw shooting accuracy. She was also 11th all-time in offensive rebounds and fifth in minutes played per game.

Keil, a center from Sparta, NJ, appeared in 27 of 31 games during her first collegiate season. She showed dramatic improvement throughout the season culminating with six blocks in the Flyers' Atlantic 10 First Round win over La Salle, which was the most in a single-game by any freshman in A-10 Tournament play. The tallest Flyer ever to wear a Flyer uniform in 12 years, Keil was second on the team in blocks. Her 28 blocked shots were the most ever by a freshman in UD history.

Rosche, a forward from Rockville, Md., was a key bench performer in the second half of most games and appeared in 27 games overall during her sophomore campaign. She played 10 minutes or more eight times including a career-best 19 minutes against St. Francis (PA), which was also her first career double-digit scoring effort with 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night from the field. Also added nine points on 6-of-8 shooting from the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds in the season opener at Louisville.

Ross, a guard/forward from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, was Dayton's most consistent bench performer and a team leader on the court throughout her first collegiate season. She finished with six games of double figures in scoring and two in rebounding. Came off the bench for an injured teammate to score 10 points and pull down nine rebounds in 27 minutes of action against Long Island. She followed with her first career start just four days later and collected a season-high 14 rebounds while scoring eight points versus Loyola-Chicago.

Cloxton, a guard from Winfield, WV, was a nominee for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference honors this season. She also showed her smarts on the court as she ranked second on the team in assists with 89 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.46. Cloxton came off the bench to tally three assists or more 15 times throughout the season including a season-best seven helpers on two occasions. She had her best weekend of the season while helping UD in back-to-back wins with seven assists at Rhode Island and six more against Saint Joseph's.