NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Announced by league officials today, University of North Dakota sophomore center Allyssa Wall has been named the 2011-12 Great West Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year. Senior guard Charnay Mothershed was named to the all-conference second team and junior guard Nicole Smart earned honorable mention honors.

A native of North Sioux City, S.D., Wall finished her freshman campaign ranked fifth on UND's all-time freshman scoring list with 354 points. Earlier named to the 2011-12 College Sports Madness Preseason All-Great West Conference first team, she led the league in field goal percentage (51.9) and ranked second in blocked shots (2.3/game). She finished the season with 16 games in double figures, a trio of 20-plus point finishes, and a pair of double-doubles.

A Phoenix, Ariz., native, Mothershed made her debut on the all-conference list after appearing in all 31 games for the Sioux last season. Her 1.4 steals per game led the team and ranked eighth in the Great West. She also ranked 11th in the conference averaging 3.0 assists per game. She swiped a career-high eight steals against Drake (Dec. 4) and recorded a personal-best seven assists against Colorado State (Nov. 21).

Also making her all-conference debut was Smart. A native of Ada, Minn., she appeared in all but one game last season and made 14 starts. Smart finished the season ranked third on the team in free throw percentage (82.5), three pointers (0.9/game), and assists (2.0/game). She made a career-high four three-pointers on two occasions last year. She first hit four in the 63-53 win over South Dakota (Jan. 15) and then hit the mark again in the 73-61 victory over Houston Baptist (March 3).

2011-12 Great West Conference Preseason Awards

Player of the Year

• Allyssa Wall, North Dakota

All-Great West Conference first team

• Janay Dockery, Chicago State
• Sammie Jensen, Utah Valley
• Rayven Johnson, NJIT
• Bianca Torre, Texas-Pan American
• Allyssa Wall, North Dakota

All-Great West Conference second team

• Donna Jackson, Texas-Pan American
• Jenna Johnson, Utah Valley
• Erin Lewis, Texas-Pan American
• Natalie Marlowe, Chicago State
• Charnay Mothershed, North Dakota
• Ce'Monay Newell, Texas-Pan American
• Joselyn Pugh, Houston Baptist

All-Great West Conference honorable mention

• Erika Newbold, Utah Valley
• Ashleigh Nwanguma, Houston Baptist
• Nicole Smart, North Dakota
• Devyn Weymouth, Houston Baptist
• Paris Williams, Chicago State 

- Go Sioux -