Michigan State University Athletics
Aerial Powers Earns WBCA All-Region Honors
3/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State sophomore forward Aerial Powers was named Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Region, as she was one of five players earning Region Six honors on Wednesday. Powers will now become eligible for WBCA All-American honors.
The sophomore from Detroit, Mich., was joined on All-Region Six team by four other players from the Big Ten, including B1G Tournament MVP Lexie Brown of Maryland. Iowa's Samantha Logic, Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell and Minnesota's Amanda Zahui B. join Powers on the list. Region Six is composed of three sophomores, a senior and a freshman.
Powers became the first Spartan to earn All-Region honors since Kalisha Keane during the 2010-11 season. Keane went on to earn WBCA and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America honors. Overall, Powers was the fourth MSU player to be named to the WBCA All-Region team.
Powers had a record-setting season, breaking the MSU single-season record for points (678) and rebounds (375). She also became just the second Michigan State women's basketball player to average over 20 points per game, also setting the MSU record for scoring average with a 21.9 points per game average as a sophomore. She broke a 40 year-old record as Linda Stoick, averaged 20.4 during the 1975 season. Powers also led the team and was second in the Big Ten in rebounding averaging 12.1 rpg, the second-most in school history. She also broke the Michigan State record with 24 double-doubles this season and 34 in her two-year career.
The sophomore also became the first Spartan to be named First-Team All-Big Ten her first-two seasons.
The selection committee uses an equation to determine a fair number of nominees from each region. The number of Division I institutions in each region is divided by the number of Division I institutions overall to determine a percentage for each region. This percentage is then multiplied by 52 (the total number of desired finalists) to get the number of finalists for each region.
The 2015 WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America Team will be announced at 1:10 p.m. ET Saturday April 4, during NCAA® Women's Final Four® Super Saturday festivities in Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
The All-Region Six honorees are as follows: Name Institution Year Pos. HeightLexie Brown Maryland Sophomore Guard 5-9Samantha Logic Iowa Senior Guard 5-9Kelsey Mitchell Ohio State Freshman Guard 5-8Aerial Powers Michigan State Sophomore Forward 6-0Amanda Zahui B. Minnesota Sophomore Center 6-5
