OGDEN, Utah – Three Idaho State women's basketball players earned Big Sky all-conference honors as announced by league officials Sunday afternoon. Senior guard
Freya Newton picked up Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors, freshman guard was named the Outstanding Freshman of the Year and sophomore guard
Saylair Grandon was named to the Big Sky all-conference third team.
Newton's defensive honor is the first for Idaho State since Joanna Hixon earned the title in 2005-06. On ISU's defensive-minded squad, Newton was tasked with defending the opposing team's top guard and finished the season with 35 steals, 14 blocks and 143 total rebounds, 89 of which were defensive. This is the first all-conference honor for the senior from Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Ors, a guard from Altura, Spain is the third player in ISU history to be named the Big Sky Outstanding Freshman. Holly Togiai earned the honor in 1994-95 and while Natalie Doma took home the title in 2004-05. Ors ranked third on the squad in scoring at 9.6 per game while leading the team in field goal percentage at 44.9, good for 10th in the Big Sky. In her first game as a Bengal at Santa Clara on Nov. 11, she finished with a game and season-high 23 points going 8-of-10 from the floor including 3-of-5 from beyond-the-arc and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe with two steals, one assist and five rebounds. She led the team or tied for team-high honors in scoring in six times this season while finishing in double-figures 12 times.
Grandon is the first-ever Bengal to earn all-Big Sky third team honors in the first year of the award. Grandon leads the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game and in conference play averaged a team-best 14.5 points which ranked in the top 10 in conference play in scoring for most of the season. Despite missing a seven-game stretch from Feb. 9 to March 1, Grandon posted four 20-point performances in conference play with a career-high 24 points coming at Idaho on Jan. 14. She finished in double-figures 12 times on the season while shooting 41.5 percent from the floor and 42.6 percent from beyond-the-arc.
Below is the full list of the 2016-17 Big Sky All-Conference performers.
First Team
Peyton Ferris, Sr., G, Montana State (MVP) (Unanimous)
Makailah Dyer, Sr., G, North Dakota (Unanimous)
Delaney Hodgins, Jr., F, Eastern Washington
Mikayla Ferenz, So., G, Idaho
Savannah Smith, So., G, Northern Colorado
Second Team
Savannah Scott, Jr., G, Northern Colorado
Riley Nordgaard, Sr., F, Montana State
Lexi Klabo, So., F, North Dakota
Tisha Phillips, Sr., G, Eastern Washington
Ashley Bolston, So., G, Portland State
Third Team
Maranne Johnson, Jr., G, Sacramento State
Olivia Lucero, Jr., G, Northern Arizona
Sidney Rielly, So., G, Portland State
Saylair Grandon, So., G, Idaho State
Deeshyra Thomas, Sr., G, Weber State
Honorable Mention
Ashli Payne, EWU
Fallyn Freije, North Dakota
Jessica Richardson, Southern Utah
MVP: Peyton Ferris, Montana State
Top Newcomer: Ashley Bolston, Portland State
Outstanding Freshman: Estefania Ors, Idaho State
Defensive Player of the Year: Karlee Wilson, Idaho;
Freya Newton, Idaho State
Idaho State opens post-season play at the Big Sky Conference Tournament against No. 11 Montana March 6 at 9:05 p.m. MST at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev.
