The Oglethorpe women's basketball team received a bevy of awards Friday morning as the SAA league office revealed their All-SAA teams and postseason awards, as voted by the league's coaches. Freshman center Savannah LeGate took home both SAA Player of the Year and SAA Newcomer of the Year honors, as well as being named to the All-SAA First Team, while Head Coach Alex Richey nabbed SAA Coach of the Year accolades. In addition, sophomore guards Taylor Dodson and Sydney Long, junior guards Bailey Charles and Jada Triplett, and junior forward Lauren Ransom all earned All-SAA Honorable Mention.
In only her first season of collegiate basketball, LeGate was outstanding. Along with leading the Petrels to the 2017-18 SAA regular season crown, she averaged 13.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. She was the only SAA student-athlete this season to average a double-double. Along with ranking first in rebounds and fifth in scoring, LeGate led the league in offensive rebounds (136), total rebounds (275) and blocks (42). In conference play, LeGate was even better. The first-year forward averaged 12.1 rebounds and scored in double figures in 10 of 14 games. Nationally, LeGate sits 10th in the nation in offensive rebounding with 5.0 per game, and tied for 15th in double-doubles with 16 on the season. She becomes the first Petrel to win a conference player of the year award since Katie Kulavic took SCAC honors in 2007-08, and the first to win a newcomer of the year award since Kulavic won that honor in the SCAC in 2005-06. LeGate is the first player in program history to win both awards in the same season.
"I could not be more proud of Savannah for the amazing start she has had to her career, culminating with these well-deserved recognitions from the SAA," said Richey. "This is only the beginning for her and I am confident that if she continues to work hard and maintain the attitude that she has displayed all year, the sky is the limit."
Richey led a young Oglethorpe squad to its first SAA regular season championship, and the program's first outright conference regular season title ever. It is also their second conference regular season championship of any type, after they shared the SCAC title in 2008-09. Under Richey's leadership, the Stormy Petrels finished with an 18-7 overall record and an 11-3 mark in SAA action. The Petrels, who will host and be the No. 1 seed in the SAA Tournament, finished with a 10-1 record at home. They led the league in points per game (68.9), total rebounds per game (44.2), rebound margin (+5.9), assists per game (13.4), steals per game (10.3) and blocks per game (4.4). Richey becomes the first Oglethorpe women's basketball coach to ever win a conference coach of the year award.
"It is special when you are recognized by your peers for an award, and this certainly means a lot to me," said Richey. "I have an incredible staff and very talented players, who are even better people, that have bought into the vision and culture of our basketball program, and so this award is a testament to them."
Triplett and Ranson earned All-SAA Honorable Mention despite dealing with injuries for large chunks of the season. Triplett suffered a season-ending injury on Jan. 14 and still finished the year fourth in the SAA in free throw percentage (82.2 percent) and 14th in scoring (10.9 points per game). She shot 32.4 percent from 3-point range (12th in the league) and recorded 38 assists on the campaign. Ransom missed five of eight conference games down the stretch, but still put together an impressive resume, including collecting 25 blocks to put her at fifth in the league in that category. She's also fifth in the SAA in blocks per game with 1.3. It's Ransom's third career All-SAA honor, and the second for Triplett.
Charles has put together an outstanding junior season for the Petrels. She currently sits at third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.1 mark. She's fifth in the league in assists with three per game, and is 12th in steals with 1.4 per contest. This is the third consecutive season in which Charles has garnered All-SAA Honorable Mention.
Dodson and Long both continued to improve as the season moved into the stretch run. Long enjoyed her first season with the Petrels, and made a significant impact on the squad. She finished the regular season fifth in the SAA in steals with 1.7 per game. She also enters the SAA Tournament eighth in the league in made 3-pointers with 38. Dodson stepped up in a big way after the loss of Triplett, scoring in double figures in each of the last eight games of the season. She finished the regular season at second in the SAA in 3-point shooting, connecting at a 40 percent rate from distance. This marks the first career All-SAA honors for both Long and Dodson.
"All year we have had different players step up every time we take the court, and when you are able to have that balance within your team, you would expect good things to happen, and they most certainly have for us this year," said Richey. "We have taken a huge leap forward both on and off the court, and it is due to the players that we have in our locker room. Although we have six athletes recognized by our league on the All-SAA teams for their play, every single one of our players has represented Oglethorpe in a way that makes me honored to be their coach."
