Freshman Lanae Billy and junior Kelsey Sorenson were named to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams after strong seasons for the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team this winter. Billy earned Second-Team honors and Sorenson received an Honorable Mention nod, the league recently announced.
Billy, one of three true freshmen to earn All-RMAC recognition, established herself as one of the league's top shooters from day one. The Shiprock, New Mexico, native ended the season with a 16 points per-game average to rank fifth in the conference. She recorded double-digit points in 22 games, including 10 games with over 20 points. Billy put up a career-high of 29 points on Jan. 13 versus Chadron State. She closed out the season with a 41.5% shooting clip from the field, ranking ninth in the RMAC, while leading all three-point shooters at 38.7%.
“I'm very proud of Lanae for this recognition from the coaches in this league. To be the leading freshman scorer in the RMAC is a tremendous honor for her and our program,” said FLC head coach Taylor Harris. “The best thing about Lanae is that her teammates are her biggest fans. Lanae has worked to evolve her game all season, and I know she's poised to have a strong spring and summer to be an even more complete player next season.”
Sorenson was one of the team's premier returners this season and the junior lived up to the hype. She put up career numbers in points per game (12.7) and rebounds per game (7.0) – marks that ranked 13th and 11th in the conference. The Utah product scored double-digit points on 18 occasions while racking up five double-doubles this season. Sorenson went off for a Skyhawks career-high 31 points versus Adams State on Feb. 7 (13-of-15 FG) en route to RMAC Player of the Week honors.
“Kelsey has now had two straight seasons of being a top-13 scorer and rebounder in the RMAC. That's a feat that is extremely hard to do as there are great coaches in this league that have adjusted to how they guard her,” Harris said. “She's a relentless player on the court, but more importantly as a teammate. This is a great honor for Kelsey, and we're all so excited for the steps she's going to take to have a successful senior year.”
The RMAC Player of the Year award went to Erin Fry of Regis.
Freshman of the year honors went to Olivia Reed of Colorado Mesa.
Sammy Van Sickle of Colorado School of Mines was named the defensive player of the year.
Mario Caesano of Adams State earned coach of the year honors.
FLC men’s guard Akuel Kot, meanwhile, advanced to the Top 25 watch list for the Bevo Francis Award, presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Starting all 33 games and averaging 23.4 points per game, Kot finished fourth in all of Division II scoring.
