BOISE, Idaho (March 9, 2020) – Four Northern Arizona women's basketball players were honored on the Big Sky's all-conference teams and individual award winners in a release by the league office on Monday. Junior
Khiarica Rasheed led the 'Jacks with a spot on the All-Big Sky First Team, while redshirt junior
Jacey Bailey (Second Team) and redshirt junior
Caitlin Malvar (Honorable Mention) also garnered all-conference accolades.
Additionally, redshirt sophomore
Nina Radford was named the Big Sky's Newcomer of the Year. Radford is the first Lumberjack since Vickie Toney in 2010, and the fourth all-time, to earn the conference's Newcomer of the Year honor.
Rasheed, Bailey and Malvar's recognition gives the Lumberjack women's basketball program three all-conference honorees for the first time in 13 years.
After leading the Big Sky in scoring in league play and ranking second overall heading into the conference tournament, Rasheed earned a spot on the five-player All-Big Sky First Team alongside Montana State's Fallyn Freije, Southern Utah's Rebecca Cardenas, Idaho's Gina Marxen and Montana's McKenzie Johnston. Freije was also voted the Big Sky's MVP.
Rasheed is the first Lumberjack selected to the first team since Amanda Frost in 2014. Rasheed scored in double-digits in all 20 conference games and in 25 of 29 games overall during the regular season.
The seventh-leading scorer in NAU history, Rasheed paces the 'Jacks with 16.8 points per game and averaged a Big Sky leading 18.9 points per game in conference play. She is also averaging a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game and shooting 49.4 percent from the field.
Bailey is second on the team behind Rasheed in both scoring and rebounding, ranking in the top 10 of the league in both categories, with averages of 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Bailey is the Big Sky's third-leading scorer overall.
Bailey, NAU's top three-point shooter this season, ranks third in the conference with 2.3 threes per game. With 67 threes on the season, Bailey is shooting 36.6 percent behind the arc.
Malvar has engineered the Big Sky's second-highest scoring offense and ranks among the nation's best in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. Malvar, who posted the program's first triple double versus Sacramento State on Jan. 9, ranks 29th in the country with a 2.27 assist-to-turnover ratio and 63rd with 4.7 assists per game.
In addition to averages of 6.2 points and 4.7 rebounds to go with her 4.7 assists per game, Malvar also leads the team with 42 steals. Malvar is averaging a team-high 33.8 minutes per game while running point for a team that ranks in the top 50 in scoring.
Radford has made an impact in her first season on the court with the Lumberjacks. The UC Santa Barbara transfer is third on the team with 11.9 points per game while shooting a team-best 39.6 percent from long distance and 87.9 percent at the free throw line.
Radford has recorded five 20-point games, which is tied for second-most on the team with Bailey and only trailing Rasheed's nine 20-point outings. She is also averaging 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in addition to leading the team with 15 blocks.
The all-conference honors for Rasheed, Bailey and Malvar are all the first of their respective careers.
NAU opens the Big Sky Tournament in Boise, Idaho on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Arizona time versus Montana in the conference quarterfinals.
