Hansen Earns Second Consecutive Atlantic Sun Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Sarah Hansen

After leading FGCU to its third straight Atlantic Sun regular season title and securing the program’s second consecutive undefeated A-Sun season, redshirt-junior Sarah Hansen (McKean, Pa./General McLane HS)and redshirt senior Brittany Kennedy (Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark HS/Oregon State) were named to the A-Sun’s Academic All-Conference team the league office announced on Tuesday, Mar. 5. The A-Sun also honored Hansen as the Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row to highlight the league’s Academic All-Conference team.

Hansen was chosen as the Scholar Athlete of the Year, by the conference’s Sports Information Directors, after earning a 3.94 cumulative GPA in chemistry. The redshirt-junior helped the Eagles to the No. 1 seed in the A-Sun Tournament and 25 wins so far this season, which are the most victories of the 13 Division I schools in the state of Florida. The McKean, Pa. native is averaging a league-best 17.0 points to go with 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals. A 2013 Capital One Academic All-America second team selection, Hansen sits second all-time in scoring in program history with 1,395 points, just 20 points off the record (1,415), and ranks in the top-15 in the A-Sun in seven categories (points, rebounds, field goal percentage, assists, free-throw percentage, steals, blocks).

Kennedy has played in 29 of 30 games for the Green and Blue this season, helping FGCU to the program’s ninth consecutive 21+ win season. Her 3.49 cumulative GPA in social work earned her a spot on the A-Sun Academic All-Conference team. One of the 15 players from around the nation on the initial “Players Making the Buzz” watch list for the 2013 Nancy Lieberman Award (annually recognizes the top point guard in NCAA Division I women’s basketball), Kennedy, the A-Sun’s leader in steals (2.9), has anchored the FGCU defense and helped the Eagles hold opponents to 52.5 points (48.4 in league play) during the regular season.

The A-Sun introduced the new sport-by-sport Academic All-Conference teams in the fall of 2011 to recognize student-athletes who embody the conference’s mission of Building Winners for Life. All the members of the team boast a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (GPA) or better and participated in at least half of their team’s games.

The No. 1 seeded Eagles return to the court on Wednesday, Mar. 6 when they take on No. 8 seed Kennesaw State (7-23, 3-15 A-Sun) at Mercer’s Hawkins Arena in the first round of the 2013 Atlantic Sun Tournament. Tip-off for the third meeting between the teams is set for 12:00 p.m. ET and the game can be seen live on ESPN3.com. The game can also be heard live online at FGCUAthletics.com with David Moulton on the call.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Sarah Hansen, FGCU
Redshirt-Junior | Guard | GPA: 3.94 | Major: Chemistry | Hometown: McKean, Pa.
• Leads the A-Sun in scoring (17.0)
• Named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America second team
• Back-to-Back A-Sun Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
*Sarah Hansen, FGCU  (R-Jr. | McKean, Pa. | Chemistry | 3.94 GPA)
Brittany Kennedy, FGCU (R-Sr. | Spokane, Wash. | Social Work | 3.49 GPA)
Hannah Phillips, Lipscomb (Sr. | Brentwood, Tenn. | Psychology | 3.79 GPA)
Jaimie Hamlet, Northern Kentucky (Sr. | Cincinnati, Ohio | Psychology | 4.0 GPA)
Kayla Thacker, Northern Kentucky (Jr. | Washington, Ky. | Radiologic Technology | 3.76 GPA)

* - Unanimous Choice