The Big South Conference Tuesday afternoon released its end-of-season awards list, which included Ashlyn Traylor being named the Big South Freshman of the Year and Vanessa Blake earning all-academic honors.
Traylor’s freshman campaign with the Highlanders will be one not easily forgotten. The Franklin, Ind., native was named the Freshman of the Week seven times this season with five of those awards coming during Big South play. Traylor thus became just the fourth-ever Highlander to win the Freshman of the Year award and the first since 2005.
Her Freshman of the Year title won’t be the only hardware Traylor takes home this season, as she was also named to the conference’s all-freshman team and received second-team all-conference honors. During Big South action this season, Traylor finished the season with top-ten conference totals in points (13.4 ppg), assists (62), steals (39) and free-throw percentage (75%). She also led the team in points (368), assists (95), and steals (60) while ranking second on the team in rebounds (170).
Blake was also named to the conference’s all-academic list after a stellar year on and off the court for the Highlanders. In her sophomore season, Blake accumulated a 3.83 GPA as a marketing major and served as one of the women’s basketball representatives on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at Radford. On the court, Blake was a premier threat for the Highlanders averaging 8.6 ppg and 5.4 rebounds per game while leading the team in offensive rebounds with 80.
