DALLAS – Conference USA continues its commitment to excellence on the court and in the classroom as five student-athletes were selected to the 2020 C-USA Women’s Basketball All-Academic Team. Erica Ogwumike, Rice senior and 2019-20 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, is rostered for the third-consecutive season.
 
2020 C-USA Women’s Basketball All-Academic Team
Christian Hithe, Charlotte, R-Jr, 3.86, Computer Science
*Erica Ogwumike, Rice, Sr., 4.0/3.86, Post-Baccalaureate (Pre-Med)/Kinesiology and Policy Studies (BA)
Rachael Childress, UAB, Sr., 3.70, Management
Katarina Zec, UTEP, Sr., 3.72, Biochemistry
Dee Givens, WKU, R-Sr., 4.0/3.73, Recreation and Sport Administration (MS)/Sports Management (BA)
*Repeat Selection (2018, 2019, 2020)

Ogwumike recently became one of three C-USA women’s basketball players to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team honors, the second time in her career she’s been recognized by the organization. The guard maintained a 4.0 GPA as a pre-med graduate student in Rice’s Post-Baccalaureate Program, and is three-time recipient of C-USA’s Academic Medal and Commissioner’s Honor Roll. The 2020 Senior CLASS Award nominee will be forever engrained in Rice women’s basketball history. Ogwumike is the first Owl to be awarded C-USA Player of the Year, C-USA Female Athlete of the Year and USBWA National Player of the Week. In February, she became just the third active Division I player to surpass 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career. Ogwumike leads C-USA with 19.0 points per game and ranks third in rebounding average (10.5).

Rachael Childress, another CoSIDA Academic All-District nod, reigns as the nation’s active leader in career 3-pointers, all while posting a 3.70 GPA as a management student. The Rogersville, Alabama, native, will leave her mark on the UAB program beyond the court. She is a C-USA Spirit of Service, Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Academic Medal and all-conference winner, and has already etched her name as UAB’s best career and single-season 3-point shooter. The guard currently ranks second in the nation with 3.4 3-pointers per game and leads the league with a 45-percent efficiency from long range.

49ers’ redshirt junior Christian Hithe makes her first appearance on the all-academic squad, but has already collected a slew of accolades for her excellence in the classroom. Hithe registered a 3.86 GPA as a computer science major and earned early admission into Charlotte’s M.S. program for information technology, concentrating on software system design and engineering. She has been listed to the school’s Athletic Director’s List, Chancellor’s List and Dean’s List multiple times, and is a three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Academic Medal honoree. Hithe leads Charlotte with a 92 percent free throw percentage and averages the team’s third-most assists (2.3) in 25 appearances this season.

UTEP senior Katarina Zec is a three-time C-USA Academic Medalist and continues to be disciplined in her studies as a biochemistry major with a 3.72 GPA. In her final season with the Miners, the Serbia product has started all 28 games and paces her team in scoring (12.9), minutes played (31.8), 3-pointers made (40) and threes attempted (111). Dating back to the 2018-19 campaign, Zec has been a staple for the UTEP offense, scoring in double figures in 34 of 40 contests.

WKU redshirt senior Dee Givens rounds out this year’s all-academic unit. The Lady Topper has collected two degrees during her tenure with WKU. She was a 4.0 master’s student with a focus in recreation and sport administration after graduating with a 3.73 and undergrad degree in sports management. Givens stands as the most efficient free throw shooter in program history and ranks inside the school’s top five career steals list. Givens has made 27 starts this season as the Toppers’ second-leading scorer (16.2), while her 2.4 steals per game rank second in C-USA.