Monday, March 21, 2022
PORTLAND, Ore. – After rewriting the GNAC record books with a historically great rebounding season, Central Washington center Samantha Bowman received recognition on a national stage when she was named a second-team All-American by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA).
The junior from Zillah, Washington becomes Central Washington’s first All-American since 2002 and second in program history. Bowman helped lead the Wildcats program to new heights in 2021-22, as the Wildcats won their first GNAC Championships in school history and won a game in the NCAA tournament for the first time before bowing out to Western Washington in the regional semifinals. She previously was named to the All-GNAC and All-West Region first teams.
Bowman led Division II with 15.9 rebounds per game. Over the course of this season, she broke the GNAC records for rebounds in a single season (477), rebounds in a single game (29 against Concordia Irvine on December 18), double-doubles in a season (26) and rebounds in a conference tournament game (23 against Western Washington on March 5). The first three records were previously held by SFU alum Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, who went on to represent Canada in the Olympics and at the FIBA World Cup.
Bowman tallied over 20 rebounds in six games this season, and also scored over 20 points in four of those games, including a 24-point, 24-rebound double-double against Northwest Nazarene in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She averaged 11.3 points and 17.3 rebounds per game in CWU’s three wins at the GNAC Championships, earning tournament MVP honors.
For the season, Bowman also averaged 16.2 points per game, fifth in the GNAC, and led the conference with 1.9 blocks per game. Further underscoring her all-around excellence, Bowman – as a center – averaged 2.9 assists and a team-leading 1.6 steals per game, ranking tied for 10th in the GNAC in both categories.
Bowman is the GNAC’s first D2CCA All-American selection since Montana State Billings forward (and current associate head coach) Alisha Breen in 2018, who remains the conference’s only D2CCA first-team selection. Bowman is only the third GNAC player ever to receive second-team consideration from D2CCA, joining Western Washington guard Taylor Peacocke in 2017 and Raincock-Ekunwe in 2013.
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-America and All-Region Basketball Teams are voted on by the members of the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA).
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.