Roanoke College was well represented at the ODAC Women's Basketball Tournament Banquet this evening. Head Coach Susan Dunagan was named 2009 ODAC Coach of the Year while three Maroons made the 2009 All-ODAC Team. Juniors Caitlyn Long and Jaleesa Osborne were named first and second-team, respectively, while Jordan Gholson garnered honorable mention honors.

 

Dunagan, who won her seventh ODAC Coach of the Year plaque, led her squad back to the top of the conference and its first ODAC Tournament #1 seed in 12 seasons during the 2008-09 regular season. The Maroons' 22 overall victories and 17 ODAC wins are the program's most since the 1996-97 campaign. Including this season, Dunagan-coached teams have won 20 or more games 15 times. She has won 537 career games in 28 seasons (including this year), and leads the Maroons in search of a conference-best 14^th ODAC title. She is the state's all-time winningest coach and was the ninth coach in NCAA Div. III history to eclipse 500 wins last season. Dunagan won her first coach of the year award since 1994.

 

Long, who is the Maroons leading scorer (12.1 ppg) and long-range threat (50 3PM), earned her second All-ODAC honor with a first-team selection for the first time in her career. The Cave Spring product is also second in assists (70), steals (41) and leads Roanoke in free-throws made (65). Since coming back from the holiday break, Long has led the team in scoring seven times and is averaging nearly 14 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Long is currently sixth all-time in career three-pointers (128), two shy of passing Suzanne Moore '97 (129) for fifth. Her 74.2% free-throw and 34.4% three-point percentages are among the career top-10 at Roanoke.

 

Osborne earned her first All-ODAC honor in her career with her quickness and intensity on defense, which led to many scoring opportunities for the two-sport star. An All-American track star for Roanoke, Osborne leads the team in assists (95), steals (64) and free-throw percentage (82.7%). In addition, Osborne is third on the team in scoring (10 ppg) and is shooting 46.9% from the floor.  Osborne's 202 career steals passes Carrie McConnell '00 for sixth on the all-time list. She is five away from typing Kay Caldwell '94 with 207.  Her 270 career assists is also sixth all-time passing both Emilie Voelker '83 and Jessica Ficarro '98.

 

Gholson also earned her first All-ODAC certificate as a force in the middle for the Maroons this winter. She broke her own single-season blocked shots record and currently has 53 heading into the post-season. In addition to blocks, she leads the team in rebounding (6 rpg) and field goal percentage (49.3%) while averaging 10.5 points per game. Her 98 career blocked shots is two shy of becoming only the third player in school-history with 100 career blocked shots.

 

Roanoke's 5-0 mark in nonconference play is the best since 2004-05 while the 8-0 start was the best in school-history. The 13-game win-streak that was recently snapped was the longest since the 1996-97 season. The Maroons clinched their eighth #1 seed since joining the ODAC in 1982. 

 

Roanoke has won more conference titles (13) than any other school ODAC Women's Basketball History with a tournament record of 54-13 (.806). Their last ODAC Championship came in 2000, defeating Emory & Henry, 59-48 to advance to their 10^th and final NCAA Tournament Appearance. Since 2000, the Maroons have advanced to the ODAC Title game only once (2003). 

 

Listed below are the 2009 Women's Basketball All-ODAC Teams. For more information on women's basketball and the upcoming ODAC Basketball Tournaments, visit the ODAC on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.