Montana senior shooting guard Kenzie De Boer (Lynden Christian) was selected first-team All-Big Sky by the conference coaches earlier this week.
De Boer, who was an honorable mention selection as a junior, entered her senior season as a 34.5-percent shooter, but upped that to 42.2 percent this season, including 37.5 percent from 3-point range. She ended up leading the Lady Griz with 14.0 points per game and is currently 13th on the program's career scoring list with 1,243 points.
"It's an honor to be first team in such a great conference," De Boer said in a press release. "It's definitely an honor for both (conference MVP and teammate Katie Baker) and me. I worked hard in the offseason, and I think I had my best season this year. I stepped up more offensively. I was a more consistent scorer, and my 3-point shooting percentage went up."
Portland State senior guard Courtney Van Brocklin (Mount Baker) was a second-team selection after she averaged a team-high 14.7 points, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. The Vikings finished the season 12-17 overall. Van Brocklin wrapped up her career with seven points, six rebounds, and a team-high four assists in a 61-54 loss to Idaho State on Saturday, March 9.
Montana (22-7) won the Big Sky regular-season championship, the right to host the conference tournament and a first-round bye in the tournament. They await the lowest seeded first-round winner on Friday, March 15, in the tournament semifinals, as they hope to lock up an NCAA Tournament appearance after missing out last year.
WILLIAMS PLAYS CLOSE TO HOME
Yale sophomore pitcher Kylie Williamson (Ferndale) got to make an appearance close to home, as she came on in relief for the Bulldogs in a 6-3 loss to Seattle University on Tuesday, March 12, at Logan Field in Seattle.
Williamson pitched 3 2/3 innings and allowed one earned run on seven hits and a walk while striking out two. It marked her fourth appearance of the spring. She also pitched two innings against Seattle on Saturday, March 9, and made an appearance against Washington on Sunday, March 10, as Yale was in town for the Husky Classic.
She pitched in nine games as a freshman and played first base in 16.
WOLF OFF TO STRONG START
Saint Martin's sophomore sprinter Alicia Wolf (Meridian) finished second in the women's 400 with a time of 1 minute, 0.35 seconds at the Pacific Lutheran Invitational on Saturday at Parkland. Central Washington's Jayna Inderbitzin was the top finisher in 1:00.04.
Last year, Wolf was part of the Saints' eighth-place 4x100 and 4x400 relays at the Great Northwest Athletic Championships and part of the school record-setting 4x100 relay, which ran a time of 51.22 seconds.
SLESK STARTS SEASON HOT
Lower Columbia College's Zach Slesk (Meridian) collected two of the Red Devils' nine hits in a 5-0 win over Lane College on Saturday.
After six games, Slesk stands eighth in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges with a .417 batting average (10 for 24). He has four RBI and has scored four runs, walked twice and swiped three bases.
