Wednesday, March 23, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced its 2021-22 All-American teams Wednesday and three GNAC athletes earned much-deserved national accolades.

Western Washington guard Emma Duff, Montana State Billings forward Taryn Shelley and Alaska Anchorage forward Tennae Voliva were each named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the WBCA, which recognized a total of 39 players.

Additionally, Alaska Anchorage coach Ryan McCarthy was a finalist for the Coach of the Year award after guiding the Seawolves to a 20-7 record, the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Championships and the NCAA West Regional.

Duff, a senior from Tumwater, Washington, has been the best player for a Western Washington team that won the GNAC regular-season championship and the NCAA West Regional and will compete in the Final Four on Wednesday night. Duff averaged 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while ranking second in the GNAC with an .833 free-throw percentage. Duff led the Vikings in scoring and steals (34) while ranking second in rebounding, assists (59) and blocks (23).

She scored a career-high 29 points on February 12 against Central Washington and recorded double-doubles in both the semifinals and finals of the NCAA West Regional. In addition to her All-American recognition, Duff has been named this season as First Team All-GNAC, Second-Team All-West Region, Academic All-GNAC and to the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team.

Shelley, a forward from Shoreline, Washington, averaged 15.4 points (tied for sixth in the GNAC) and 8.4 rebounds (second in the GNAC) per game for an MSUB team that finished with 10 conference wins and advanced to the GNAC Championships semifinals. Shelley shot 50 percent from the field (186-372) and 81 percent from the line and also blocked 1.2 shots per game.

Shelley scored a career-high 30 points against Central Washington on February 24. She recorded nine double-doubles, second-most in the GNAC, and scored 20 or more points in five of those games. Shelley was named First-Team All-GNAC and Academic All-GNAC and ranks in the top 10 in school history in rebounds, blocks, field-goal percentage and three-point percentage.

Voliva, a forward from Anchorage, Alaska, helped the Seawolves reach the NCAA tournament for the eighth consecutive season and 14th out of the past 15 seasons. Voliva averaged a team-high 12.9 points and seven rebounds per game, ranking ninth and seventh in the conference, respectively. She finished third in the GNAC with an 83 percent free-throw percentage and 2.1 steals per game.

Voliva set or tied career-highs in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and assists over the course of this season. She scored 20 or more points five times, including in UAA’s final two games of the season in the GNAC Championships and NCAA regional. In addition to being named an All-American on the court, Voliva was recently honored as an Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The WBCA All-America teams are nominated and selected by Division II women’s basketball coaches. For 40 years, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association has been the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, the WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to the organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport.