From TheSCIAC.org

Box-score fillers Rhe Nae Leach of Whittier College and Kathryn Edwards of Caltech were voted the Offensive and Defensive Athletes of the Year to headline the women's basketball All-Conference teams.
 
Leach and the Poets claimed a regular season title for the first time since 1986 that also marked their first-ever time as the lone team atop the standings. The conference leader in scoring by more than three points per game (21.4), Leach also ranked second in assists (4.7), fifth in rebounding (9.8), eighth in free-throw percentage (.738) and 12^th in qualified field goal percentage (.391). The slashing guard also was one of just two players to rank in the top five for both steals (2.8) and blocks (1.1).
 
Edwards was the only player to top averages of 1.5 in both steals and blocks, leading the league with 2.1 swats and nabbing a third-best 2.5 steals. The senior added 7.0 defensive rebounds per contest to rank fifth and becomes the first SCIAC Athlete of the Year in Caltech women's basketball history, concluding a career having ranked among the top-five in steals per game all four years with 154 total and an average of 2.5
 
Teammate Kyra Phaychanpheng earned Newcomer of the Year recognition after ranking among the top-10 in scoring (14.4), field goal percentage (.404) and free-throw percentage (.710) while top-20 in both blocks (0.5) and steals (1.5).
 
The University of La Verne's Marissa Howell was acknowledged with the Ed Baldwin Sportsmanship Award, presented to the senior who exhibits the best sportsmanship throughout the conference season. A former regular season conference champion and First Team All-SCIAC selection, Howell has provided confident leadership for the Leopards squad while exhibiting unparalleled sportsmanship. This season, the senior has been the Leos' second-leading scorer while taking care of the ball with just 17 turnovers and ranking fourth in the league with 2.5 three-pointers per game.
 
First-year Whittier head coach Kristen Dowling and the Poets bench garnered Coaching Staff of the Year honors after leading a squad that missed the SCIAC Tournament by one game last year to its only outright regular season title in program history. The Poets claimed the #1 seed in the tournament after a 13-0 start to conference play that gave them a three-game cushion for the title.
 
Regular season runner-up California Lutheran University led all teams with two First Team selections and a third overall, while Whittier was the only other squad with two players to make the First Team. All nine teams got at least one player onto an All-Conference squad in a season of unmatched parity in which just seven games separated second place from ninth.
 
Leach repeats as a First Team selection and Athlete of the Year after winning Defensive honors last winter; this marks a third career All-Conference accolade including a 2023 Second Team nod. Edwards is the only three-time First Team honoree among this group, while Janna Holley of CLU becomes a third three-time All-Conference recipient. Teammate Alline Ballard also repeated on the First Team, while Jadyn Lee (Pomona-Pitzer Colleges) and Lorita Salloom (WC) stepped up from the Second Team in 2024 and Occidental College's Paige Yasukochi returned to the Second Team after a one-year hiatus.
 


 

Offensive Athlete of the Year	Defensive Athlete of the Year	Newcomer of the Year	Ed Baldwin  Award	Coaching Staff of the Year
Rhe Nae Leach Whittier	Kathryn Edwards Caltech	Kyra Phaychanpheng Caltech	Marissa Howell La Verne	Kristen Dowling Whittier

 

First Team All-SCIAC
Name	Institution	Year	Position	Hometown
Rhe Nae Leach	Whittier	Sr.	G	Riverside, Calif.
Kathryn Edwards	Caltech	Sr.	G/F	Centennial, Colo.
Alline Ballard	Cal Lutheran	So.	F	Pasadena, Calif.
Janna Holley	Cal Lutheran	Jr.	PG	Winnetka, Calif.
Jadyn Lee	Pomona-Pitzer	So.	G	Palos Verdes, Calif.
Lorita Salloom	Whittier	Sr.	F	Santa Clarita, Calif.
AJ Wick	Redlands	So.	C	Henderson, Nev.
Layla Woods	Chapman	So.	F	San Jose, Calif.
Second Team All-SCIAC
Name	Institution	Year	Position	Hometown
Shanna Brown	Chapman	So.	F	Laguna Beach, Calif.
Renee Chong	CMS	Jr.	G	San Diego, Calif.
Leila Hosn	Redlands	Jr.	PG	Seattle, Wash.
Kaiya Mack	Cal Lutheran	So.	G	Anaheim, Calif.
Alyssa Smith	La Verne	So.	F	Spanaway, Wash.
Paige Yasukochi	Occidental	Jr.	G/F	La Palma, Calif.

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