SHERMAN, Texas - In exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), junior guard Murphy Burns of Trinity University and junior forward Chelsea Leeder of Southwestern University were selected as SCAC Women’s Basketball Co-Players-of-the-Year, while Trinity head coach Cameron Hill was named SCAC Coach-of-the-Year. Leeder was also recognized as SCAC Defensive Co-Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Trinity junior forward Libby Kruse. Complete Release

First-year forward Anecia Richardson of Trinity was selected the SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year.

Burns, who led the SCAC in scoring average last season, currently leads the conference in total points scored (470) and is second in points per game (18.8). The junior sharpshooter scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season and is attempting to become the first women’s player since Tori Huggins of Hendrix College (2005-06 and 2006-07) to lead the league in scoring average in consecutive seasons. Burns also leads the SCAC in free throw percentage (82.0%) and is second in three-point field goals made (57) and fifth in steals (53). A First-Team All-SCAC selection last season, Burns is the first Trinity women’s player to earn Player-of-the-Year honors since Megan Selmon won the award for her efforts during the 2001-02 season, and just the third overall for the program.

Leeder is currently fifth in the conference in both points scored (364) and points per game (14.6) and is also ranked in the top 10 in the league in three-point field goals made (50 – third), three-point field goal percentage (30.7 percent – eighth) and assists (85 – sixth). A First Team All-SCAC selection a year ago, she is the league’s current career scoring leader among players who have played their entire career in the conference with 1,194 points. In addition to her offensive prowess, Leader is a defensive force in both the full and half court and is currently ranked among the league’s leaders in both steals (59 – fourth) and blocks (27 – fourth). The SCAC coaches recognized these efforts and also named Leader the SCAC Defensive Co-Player-of-the-Year – making her the first player in conference history to earn both Player- and Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors in the same season.

Kruse shared Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors with Leeder, and currently ranks fourth in the SCAC in total rebounds (191), fifth in rebounds per game (7.6) and ninth in steals (50). One of just three players to finish in the top 10 in the league in assists, steals and rebounds, Kruse recently went over the 500 career rebound mark and stands at 513 heading into this weekend’s conference tournament. She was also a force for the Tigers on the offensive end and ranks in the top 10 in the SCAC in both assists (76 – eighth) and steals (50 – ninth), and is sixth in field goal percentage (44.2%). Kruse is the first Trinity women’s basketball player to earn Defensive POTY honors since Jenna Smith won the award in consecutive seasons in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Trinity’s Richardson made an immediate impact in her first season in San Antonio, starting all 25 games while leading the SCAC in field goal percentage (58.8%), ranking second in blocked shots (34) and seventh in both total points (356) and points per game (14.2). Her 34 blocks are the most by a first-year player at Trinity since Krista Prato-Matthews in 2005-06. The first-year forward, who is just the second Trinity women’s player to earn Newcomer-of-the-Year honors, was even more impressive during conference competition, averaging 14.7 points (fourth in the SCAC) and 6.1 rebounds (14th in the SCAC) in those 15 contests.

In his first season as the head coach of his alma mater, Hill has led Trinity to a 21-4 overall record and an undefeated (15-0) mark in the SCAC – becoming the first women’s team to go undefeated in league play since DePauw University went 14-0 in 2007-08. Entering the conference tournament, Hill has already led the Tigers to a 12 1/2 game turnaround from the previous season, and the 21 wins are the most-ever by a first-year women’s coach in school history. Trinity is currently riding a 15-game winning streak – the second-longest such streak for the program. A standout player for Trinity from 1996-1999, Hill received All-SCAC honors in two of his three seasons with the team. He is the first Trinity women’s basketball coach to earn Coach-of-the-Year recognition since Becky Geyer shared the honor with Rhodes College’s Matt Dean in 2002-03.

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