IRVING, Texas – The 2017 Conference USA Women’s Basketball Superlative Awards are highlighted by Old Dominion redshirt senior Jennie Simms, the nation’s second leading scorer. Southern Miss’ Joye Lee-McNelis was voted the Conference USA Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Eagles to a top-three seed. Voting was comprised of two votes per institution; the women's basketball head coach and one media representative per school.

Simms earned the C-USA Player of the Year distinction after an extraordinary offensive showing this season. A four-time C-USA Player of the Week and three-time All-C-USA First Team selection, Simms leads C-USA in scoring with 25.7 points per game. Her scoring mark is also good for second nationally as she is one of only two players in the country averaging at least 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

McNelis earned her second C-USA Coach of the Year honor after securing her third 20+ win season in the last four years. McNelis, who now carries over 200 wins with two different programs in her career (Memphis, Southern Miss), was diagnosed with lung cancer in early February. Since the diagnosis, Southern Miss has rattled off seven consecutive victories, the second-longest active streak in the league.

UAB’s Rachael Childress, a four-time C-USA Freshman of the Week, was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year after a notable season for the Blazers. A focal point of the UAB three-point attack, Childress leads all freshmen nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.1).  

Earning the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year award was Southern Miss guard Brittanny Dinkins. The Miami native has been an integral part of the Lady Eagle defensive scheme this season. A certified floor thief, Dinkins leads C-USA in steals (100) and steals per game (3.2). Her 3.2 steals per contest places her ninth in the country, while her 100 total steals is seventh.

UTSA junior guard Loryn Goodwin was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year. The Cypress, Texas, product has been an offensive force, averaging a C-USA fifth-best 17.8 points per game. She also is in the top 10 in assists (4.4), steals (3.1) and assist/turnover ratio (1.6). Goodwin has recorded double-digit scoring 29 times along with four double-doubles.

Rounding out the superlative honors, Middle Tennessee’s Gabby Lyon was named the C-USA Sixth Player of the Year after registering 29 games of action with 11 starts. During the early part of league action, Lyon started coming off the bench, which sparked the Middle Tennessee offense. The junior forward enjoys the paint, where she averages 6.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest in her reserve role (27.4 minutes per game).

The 2017 Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship presented by MetroPCS, hosted by UAB in Birmingham, Alabama, tips off Wednesday, March 8, with the first round tipping off at 12:30 p.m. CT on Campus Insiders. The first two rounds will be played at Bartow Arena on the campus of UAB before moving over to Legacy Arena at the BJCC for the semifinals and championship.

2016-17 C-USA Women’s Basketball Superlative Awards
Player of the Year: Jennie Simms, Old Dominion
Freshman of the Year: Rachael Childress, UAB
Defensive Player of the Year: Brittanny Dinkins, Southern Miss
Newcomer of the Year: Loryn Goodwin, UTSA
Sixth Player of the Year: Gabby Lyon, Middle Tennessee
Coach of the Year: Joye Lee-McNelis, Southern Miss

2016-17 C-USA Coaches Circle
Given to head coaches that receive votes in the poll
Brooke Stoehr, Louisiana Tech
Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee
Michelle Clark-Heard, WKU