Thursday, June 9, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – From start to finish, Megan Mullings was the prime mover behind Alaska Anchorage’s record run to the NCAA Division II women’s basketball national championship game.

The top player on the conference’s top team is now being recognized as the conference’s top female athlete with her selection as the 2015-16 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Female Athlete of the Year.

Mullings led Alaska Anchorage on a historic run. The Seawolves finished the season with a 38-3 overall record and 18-2 conference mark. The run included an impressive 19-game win streak through January and February, a win over Division I Pepperdine as well as GNAC regular season and tournament titles. Alaska Anchorage was rarely challenged on its march through the NCAA West Regional Tournament and Elite Eight before losing to undefeated Lubbock Christian in the Division II title game.

Mullings, the 2014-15 GNAC Women’s Basketball Newcomer of the Year, was on the radar of opposing coaches and Division II women’s basketball fans alike from the start of the season. She was selected as the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year and was named by Division II Bulletin to their preseason “Super 16.”

She followed that up with solid numbers all season, averaging 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and ranked in the GNAC’s top-10 in both categories. Mullings proved to be one of the most accurate shooters in the nation, leading the GNAC and ranking second in Division II by making 61.7 percent of her shots. The next closest player in the conference shot 53.8 percent. In two seasons at UAA, Mullings shot 61.2 percent from the field, setting the Alaska Anchorage and GNAC career records and ranking 19th in Division II history.

In addition, Mullings broke Alaska Anchorage’s 35-year-old records for points in a season (635) and field goals made (236).

Mullings was named the GNAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and was a unanimous First Team All-GNAC selection. She went on to be named to the Elite Eight All-Tournament Team, was named a third team All-American by the Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association and an honorable mention All-American by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Mullings was also recognized by Alaska Anchorage as the 2015-16 Bill MacKay Athlete of the Year.

Mullings is the second Alaska Anchorage athlete to named the GNAC’s Female Athlete of the Year. Other nominees for this year’s award included Alisha Breen of Montana State Billings (basketball), Kailyn Campbell of Central Washington (softball), Sam Harthun of Alaska (volleyball), Ellen Kett of Simon Fraser (basketball), Ellie Logan of Northwest Nazarene (basketball/track and field), Meghan Luebbert of Concordia (softball), Maliea Luquin of Seattle Pacific (track and field), Delanee Nilles of Western Washington (soccer), Shannon Porter of Saint Martin’s (cross country/track and field) and Stephanie Stuckey of Western Oregon (cross country/track and field).

GNAC FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
2015-16: Megan Mullings, Alaska Anchorage (Basketball)
2014-15: Lindsey Butterworth, Simon Fraser (Track and Field)
2013-14: Bobbi Kundsen, Montana State Billings (Basketball)
2012-13: Helen Crofts, Simon Fraser (Track and Field) & Ali Worthen, Seattle Pacific (Track and Field)
2011-12: Hanna Johansson, Alaska Anchorage (Basketball)
2010-11: Sarah Porter, Western Washington (Cross Country/Track and Field)
2009-10: Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific (Cross Country/Track and Field)
2008-09: Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific (Cross Country/Track and Field)
2007-08: Courtney Schneider, Western Washington (Volleyball)
2006-07: Jessica Pixler, Seattle Pacific (Cross Country/Track and Field)
2005-06: LeAnna McGahuey, Central Washington (Volleyball)
2004-05: Danielle Ayers-Stamper, Seattle Pacific (Track and Field)
2003-04: Liz Bishop, Western Washington (Volleyball)
2002-03: Kerie Hughes, Seattle Pacific (Basketball)
2001-02: Stephanie Huffman, Seattle Pacific (Track and Field)