ACU's Lankford And Goodenough Earn Top LSC Honors
By: Lance Fleming, ACU Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations
Updated: March 5, 2013
ALLEN - ACU junior guard Mackenzie Lankford on Tuesday night became the eighth and final Wildcat women's basketball player to earn a third straight first team all-Lone Star Conference award as she led a contingent of Wildcats who earned all-league honors after their co-championship regular season.
Aside from Lankford's first team honor, junior forward Renata Marquez was voted second team and senior center Kelsey Smith was named honorable mention. First-year head coach Julie Goodenough was voted co-Coach of the Year, along with Texas A&M-Commerce head coach Nicole Anderson, and ACU freshman point guard Whitney West was voted the league's Freshman of the Year.
Lankford - sixth in the league in scoring at 14.2 points per game - joins four-time first team honorees Claudia Schleyer, Jennifer Clarkson and Melanie Carter, and three-time first team all-LSC honorees Deonna Moore, Anita Vigil, Audrey Maxwell and Caroline Omamo on a short list of the most-decorated players in program history.
Lankford won't have a chance to join Schleyer, Clarkson and Carter as a four-time first team all-LSC performer because this is ACU's last season in the league as it moves to NCAA Division I affiliation and the Southland Conference on July 1.
Marquez is enjoying a fine season, averaging 12.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as she earned al-league honors for the first time. Smith is one of the top post players in the league, averaging 11.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while leading the league in blocked shots at 2.0 per game.
West moved into the starting point guard role 12 games ago and is averaging 8.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 43.3 percent from 3-point range on the season.
With Goodenough's Coach of the Year honor, every Wildcat coach in the LSC era - Burl McCoy (1982-83, 1984-85 and 1985-86), Suzanne Fox (1995-96), Wayne Williams (1997-98), and Shawna Lavender (2007-08) - was voted LSC Coach of the Year.
On the academic side, Lankford was voted to the academic all-LSC first team for the second straight season.
Aside from Lankford's first team honor, junior forward Renata Marquez was voted second team and senior center Kelsey Smith was named honorable mention. First-year head coach Julie Goodenough was voted co-Coach of the Year, along with Texas A&M-Commerce head coach Nicole Anderson, and ACU freshman point guard Whitney West was voted the league's Freshman of the Year.
Lankford - sixth in the league in scoring at 14.2 points per game - joins four-time first team honorees Claudia Schleyer, Jennifer Clarkson and Melanie Carter, and three-time first team all-LSC honorees Deonna Moore, Anita Vigil, Audrey Maxwell and Caroline Omamo on a short list of the most-decorated players in program history.
Lankford won't have a chance to join Schleyer, Clarkson and Carter as a four-time first team all-LSC performer because this is ACU's last season in the league as it moves to NCAA Division I affiliation and the Southland Conference on July 1.
Marquez is enjoying a fine season, averaging 12.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as she earned al-league honors for the first time. Smith is one of the top post players in the league, averaging 11.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while leading the league in blocked shots at 2.0 per game.
West moved into the starting point guard role 12 games ago and is averaging 8.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 43.3 percent from 3-point range on the season.
With Goodenough's Coach of the Year honor, every Wildcat coach in the LSC era - Burl McCoy (1982-83, 1984-85 and 1985-86), Suzanne Fox (1995-96), Wayne Williams (1997-98), and Shawna Lavender (2007-08) - was voted LSC Coach of the Year.
On the academic side, Lankford was voted to the academic all-LSC first team for the second straight season.
