University of Minnesota Athletics
Ashley Ellis-Milan Honored as Gophers' MVP
4/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Junior Ashley Ellis-Milan was named the Golden Gophers’ Most Valuable Player on Sunday as the Minnesota women’s basketball team celebrated the 2008-09 season at the team’s annual banquet at the McNamara Alumni Center.
Ellis-Milan, a 6-2 center from St. Paul, emerged as a go-to player for the Gophers during her junior campaign and was recognized with All-Big Ten Third Team accord by both the Conference coaches and media, She was second in scoring for the season at 11.9 points a game, but topped the Gophers in scoring average during the Big Ten Conference season at 12.8 points an outing. Ellis-Milan led the Gophers in rebounding for the third consecutive season and pulled down an average of 7.3 caroms a game in 2008-09. Ellis-Milan was also voted as the Gophers’ Most Improved Player.
Senior Emily Fox was honored with the Golden Gopher Award, a new honor bestowed upon a player who displays what a Minnesota student-athlete is all about - the values, respect, loyalty and integrity of being a Golden Gopher athletically, academically and in the community throughout a collegiate career. Fox earned All-Big Ten Second Team accolades as a senior and finished her Gopher career as a three-time All-Big Ten honoree. A WNBA Draft pick of the Minnesota Lynx, Fox completed her Minnesota career ranked seventh in scoring (1,449), third in assists (413) and fourth in steals (242). Fox, an Academic All-District Second Team honoree, led the Gophers in scoring on the season at 12.8 points per game.
Senior Kay Sylva was honored with 2009 Coaches Award, an award selected by the coaching staff in recognition of a player’s impact on her team, her leadership qualities and work ethic. Sylva completed her two-year stint with the Gophers as one of the squad’s top defenders. Sylva averaged 3.8 points and 1.0 steals while playing 13.3 minutes per game last season.
Junior Brittany McCoy collected two top awards for the season, the Gophers’ Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Most Outstanding Scholar Award. McCoy has started every game of her Minnesota career (97) and has also dished out over 100 assists in each of her first three seasons as a Golden Gopher. A two-time recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year (also won in 2007), McCoy is charged with defending the opponent’s top perimeter player whether a point guard, shooting guard or small forward. McCoy averaged 6.8 points and 4.1 assists per game in 2008-09. She ranked third in the Big Ten in assists in 2008-09 and is fourth on the Minnesota all-time career assists list with 367.
The Golden Gopher team captains for the 2008-09 season were Fox, McCoy and Ellis-Milan.
The Sixth Player of the Year Award is given to a person who makes a special contribution to the Golden Gopher program, whether in time, effort, donation or spirit. The 2008-09 recipient of this special award is Terry McFarland. McFarland was a key player in the renaissance of the Fast Break Club in the early 2000s and served as its president of several years.
The Fast Break Club (FBC) also announced its awardwinners at the banquet. The awards are voted upon by the FBC’s Board of Directors. The Fast Break Club Award recipient was Ellis-Milan. The FBC’s Love of the Game Award was given to Kay Sylva.
The evening was concluded with the debut of the 2008-09 highlight video.
Minnesota finished the 2008-09 season with a 20-12 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ellis-Milan, a 6-2 center from St. Paul, emerged as a go-to player for the Gophers during her junior campaign and was recognized with All-Big Ten Third Team accord by both the Conference coaches and media, She was second in scoring for the season at 11.9 points a game, but topped the Gophers in scoring average during the Big Ten Conference season at 12.8 points an outing. Ellis-Milan led the Gophers in rebounding for the third consecutive season and pulled down an average of 7.3 caroms a game in 2008-09. Ellis-Milan was also voted as the Gophers’ Most Improved Player.
Senior Emily Fox was honored with the Golden Gopher Award, a new honor bestowed upon a player who displays what a Minnesota student-athlete is all about - the values, respect, loyalty and integrity of being a Golden Gopher athletically, academically and in the community throughout a collegiate career. Fox earned All-Big Ten Second Team accolades as a senior and finished her Gopher career as a three-time All-Big Ten honoree. A WNBA Draft pick of the Minnesota Lynx, Fox completed her Minnesota career ranked seventh in scoring (1,449), third in assists (413) and fourth in steals (242). Fox, an Academic All-District Second Team honoree, led the Gophers in scoring on the season at 12.8 points per game.
Senior Kay Sylva was honored with 2009 Coaches Award, an award selected by the coaching staff in recognition of a player’s impact on her team, her leadership qualities and work ethic. Sylva completed her two-year stint with the Gophers as one of the squad’s top defenders. Sylva averaged 3.8 points and 1.0 steals while playing 13.3 minutes per game last season.
Junior Brittany McCoy collected two top awards for the season, the Gophers’ Defensive Player of the Year Award and the Most Outstanding Scholar Award. McCoy has started every game of her Minnesota career (97) and has also dished out over 100 assists in each of her first three seasons as a Golden Gopher. A two-time recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year (also won in 2007), McCoy is charged with defending the opponent’s top perimeter player whether a point guard, shooting guard or small forward. McCoy averaged 6.8 points and 4.1 assists per game in 2008-09. She ranked third in the Big Ten in assists in 2008-09 and is fourth on the Minnesota all-time career assists list with 367.
The Golden Gopher team captains for the 2008-09 season were Fox, McCoy and Ellis-Milan.
The Sixth Player of the Year Award is given to a person who makes a special contribution to the Golden Gopher program, whether in time, effort, donation or spirit. The 2008-09 recipient of this special award is Terry McFarland. McFarland was a key player in the renaissance of the Fast Break Club in the early 2000s and served as its president of several years.
The Fast Break Club (FBC) also announced its awardwinners at the banquet. The awards are voted upon by the FBC’s Board of Directors. The Fast Break Club Award recipient was Ellis-Milan. The FBC’s Love of the Game Award was given to Kay Sylva.
The evening was concluded with the debut of the 2008-09 highlight video.
Minnesota finished the 2008-09 season with a 20-12 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Players Mentioned
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