All-B1G Honors
Mar 02 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers senior guard Syessence Davis (Neptune, N.J.) was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year while all-conference honors were bestowed upon Betnijah Laney (Clayton, Del.), Kahleah Copper (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Tyler Scaife (Little Rock, Ark.) it was announced on Monday night.
A top 15 finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation's top point guard, Davis has been a menace to the opposition's offense. She ranks fourth nationally and leads the Big Ten in steals at 3.4 per game and is only five steals away from becoming Rutgers' all-time steals leader. The senior Scarlet Knight has registered nine games with five or more steals and 17 games with three of more thefts. With her five steals against the Hoosiers on Sunday afternoon, she brought her career steals total to 289 and became the only Scarlet Knight in women's basketball history to capture 100 or more steals in multiple seasons. Among her best performances this season was on Jan. 10 at Penn State, where Davis tied the single-game school record with 10 steals against the Lady Lions.
Davis was also an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection by the media. In addition to her defensive statistics, Davis ranks fourth in the country and leads the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio (3.39). She has dished the ball out 122 times with only 38 turnovers and committed two or fewer turnovers in 23 of RU's 29 contests to date. Currently ninth on RU's all-time assist leaders list with 395 helpers, Davis has recorded 11 games with five or more assists this season.
Additionally, Davis missed out on a triple-double as she registered 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists against Iona on Dec. 20. It was Davis' first career double-double and would have been the first RU triple-double since 2011. Davis becomes third Scarlet Knight to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors. Current assistant coach Chelsea Newton was the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, while Essence Carson was the BIG EAST's top defensive player in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Laney earned First Team All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and media as she averaged a double-double of 15.9 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. The senior Scarlet Knight has posted 18 double-doubles on the season, ranking 10th nationally and third in the Big Ten and totaled 31 double-doubles in her career. She opened the season with eight consecutive double figure scoring and rebounding games and has added in eight 20+ scoring efforts.
Among Laney's most memorable moments of the season was an incredible game against then-No. 6 UNC with a career-tying 24 points and career-high 24 rebounds on Dec. 4 vs. then-No. 6 North Carolina. Laney's 24 rebounds set a Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC) record - men or women - as she surpassed the previous record of 21 held by Women's Basketball Hall of Famer and former WNBA All-Star Sue Wicks set back in 1987 against Penn State. Laney was also two rebounds shy of tying the Rutgers women's basketball single-game record of 26 set by Sandy Tupurins on March 1, 1977.
Laney's rebounding prowess has helped the Scarlet Knights win the battle of the boards in 21 of their 29 games to date. She ranks seventh on RU's all-time rebounding leaders list with 873 career boards. Her 24 rebounds vs. then-No. 6 UNC and her 18 boards against Colgate on Nov. 28 were among the best single game rebounding performances by a Scarlet Knight since 2005. She has posted double figure rebounds in 19 of her 28 appearances this season.
Additionally, she joined the 1,000 points club against the Tar Heels in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and currently ranks 14th all-time in scoring at Rutgers with 1,349 career points. Laney is also shooting 50 percent from the field (186-of-339) and has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 17 contests.
Copper earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and media as she enters the postseason as Rutgers' leading scorer at 16.4 points per game. The junior Scarlet Knight is seventh in the Big Ten in scoring and has posted 10 20-plus point scoring performances, including three-straight to end the year. Copper, who in the final five games of the regular season has averaged 20.8 points per contest, has reached double figure scoring in all but four contests this season. The Philadelphia product has registered 13 games of shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
Last season's American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, Scaife was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media after averaging 14.7 points per game. Scaife has produced nine 20-plus point games and led the Scarlet Knights in scoring on nine occasions. The sophomore Scarlet Knight poured in a season-high 28 points in RU's victory over then-No. 21 Minnesota and helped to force double overtime against then-No. 6 North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with 25 points. Against the top 25, Scaife has averaged 15.9 points per contest.
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