CORVALLIS, Ore. – Callie Stevens became the second Warrior in program history to repeat as the conference Player of the Year to highlight the All-Cascade Conference Women’s Basketball team on Wednesday. Stevens, along with teammates Hannah Broyles and Maddie Holm, were voted first-team all-conference. Sophomore Ellie Sander earned honorable mention honors and Sitara Byrd was voted the Cascade Conference Freshman of the Year.
“It’s always nice when our players get recognized by league coaches for all their hard work,” Head Coach Brian Orr said. “Even though these awards are for the 2022-23 season, we understand they are a result of their life-long commitments to the game of basketball. All five have had to overcome injuries and adversity along the way.”
Stevens joined LC State Hall of Famer Jasmine Stohr as one of the only two Warrior players to win multiple conference Player of the Year accolades. The junior from Puyallup, Wash., leads the team in scoring and ranks fifth in the CCC at 14.4 points per game. The guard has dished out the most assists in the conference this season with 113 (3.6 per game) and sits second in assist/turnover ratio (2.6). Stevens scored the 1,000th point of her career during the final weekend of the regular season, doing so in two seasons. She is currently tied for eighth all-time in 3-pointers made with 160. Stevens improved her all-around game with career-highs in rebounds (97), assists and steals (54) this season.
Byrd led all freshmen in the Cascade in rebounding with 5.4 per game. The Spokane, Wash., native grabbed 161 rebounds and 43 steals during her debut season while averaging 5.2 points per game. Byrd had nine steals, the most of any Warrior in a game this season, at Multnomah.
Moscow native Broyles has been the most dangerous 3-point shooter this season with a conference-leading 89 triples. The next closest in the CCC is 75. The senior has had a breakout season and ranks second on the team in scoring with 13.0 points per game. She is shooting .390 from the field and .366 from 3-point range heading into the national tournament. Broyles has tallied 50 steals and 71 assists so far this season.
Holm earned First-Team All-Cascade Conference for the second straight season after leading the team in rebounding. Her mark of 8.4 rebounds per game ranks fourth in the CCC while scoring 10.1 points per game. With three seasons under her belt, Holm ranks fourth all-time in rebounds per game (8.0). The junior leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.408) with 29 triples made this season. She is tied for second on the team in blocks (18) and had 48 steals and 48 assists so far this season.
Sander stepped into a starting role in her sophomore season and made an impact immediately. The Spokane, Wash., native leads the CCC in steals (71) and steals per game (2.3) this season, and is the most efficient scorer on the team with a .489 field goal percentage. Sander, at 5-foot-9, is tied for second on the team in blocks with 18. She is averaging 10.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and is second on the team in assists with 77.
“Conference rules limit every team’s potential winners, otherwise our team may have had even more. But considering the number of talented and deserving players throughout the league this year, it makes this year’s awards even more special,” Orr explained. “Individual awards are part of every team sport, but every player knows that their teammates played a major role in their individual accomplishments.”
The Warriors open the national tournament on March 7 when LC State hosts the 2022-23 NAIA Women’s Basketball Championship First and Seconds Rounds in the P1FCU Activity Center.
“This is definitely one of the best teams I have had the honor of coaching,” Orr said. “Couldn’t be prouder of every player on our team.”
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PLAYERS MENTIONED
#4 Ellie Sander
G 5′ 9″ Sophomore
#5 Sitara Byrd
G/F 5′ 10″ Freshman
#14 Maddie Holm
F 5′ 10″ Junior
#21 Callie Stevens
G 5′ 6″ Junior
#30 Hannah Broyles
G 5′ 8″ Senior