University of Texas Rio Grande Valley junior guard Shawnte’ Goff has been named the WAC Player of the Year and selected to the All-WAC First Team and All-Defensive Team, and junior forward Anushka Maldonado has been named to
the All-Newcomer team.
The Western Athletic Conference announced its women’s basketball postseason honors on March 7, rewarding athletes for their play throughout the conference season as voted on by the eight head coaches.
Goff led the WAC in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game while also leading the conference in minutes per game at 35.9 per contest. She scored 20 points or more six times in WAC play and a total of nine times throughout the entire season. She finished WAC conference play by scoring 20 points and leading the Vaqueros to a victory against the New Mexico State University Aggies March 5.
Goff uses a well-rounded game, often leading the team in scoring, while locking down on the defensive end of the court. In addition to leading the team in scoring and minutes, she also ranked among conference leaders in free throws, shooting at .794 percent; three-pointers made per game, 1.9; assists, 3.3;defensive rebounding, 5.4; steals, 1.4;and blocks per game, 0.6.
On the full season, Goff is averaging 15.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game and has led UTRGV in scoring and assists in 17 and 18 games.She is already the program’s record-holder in field goals made (1,280) and ranks second all-time in scoring (1,324).She wasn’t the only Vaquero to earn postseason honors.
Maldonado, a junior transfer from Odessa College, was named to the All-Newcomer team, finishing fifth in WAC points per game at 12.6, fifth in rebounds at 6.9 per game and ranking fourth in blocks per game with 1.2. She also finished third in free throw shooting (.813) and among conference leaders in a number of categories, including defensive rebounding (5.1), field goal percentage (.449), three-point shooting (.340), steals (1.5), and offensive rebounding (1.8).
Maldonado scored a career high 28 points on Jan. 14 in an all-around effort at Chicago State University, shooting 10 of 12 field goals, 4 of 5 from behind the three-point line to go along with nine rebounds and three steals.
The WAC announced its men’s basketball postseason award winnersMarch 8 as voted on by the eight head coaches. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley freshman guard Antonio Green earned the title of Freshman of the Year.
In his first year of collegiate play, Green averaged 11.3 points and led the conference in minutes per game with 35.17. He finished the season among conference leaders in three-pointers per game, 2.17; top 10 in assists, 3.08 a game; and defensive rebounds per game, 4.08.
On the entire season, Green averaged 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. His shooting of .388 (57 for 147) from behind the three-point line ranks as the seventh best three-point percentage among all freshmen in the NCAA.
