LA MIRADA, Calif. — Biola University senior forward
Jessilyn Conicelli has been named a 2010-11 Second-Team Capital One Women's Basketball Academic All-American as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday.
Conicelli earned the honor for both her work in the classroom and on the court, selected as one of 15 student-athletes in the College Division which represents schools in the NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA schools. The senior from Redlands, Calif., has posted an impressive 3.96 GPA while pursuing a degree in business and has named to the Dean's List in each of her seven sememsters at Biola.
In addition to her success off the court, Conicelli has been a dominant force on the court. She is as one of the top players in the Golden State Athletic Conference–widely known as the nation's toughest conference–and is the lone player in the GSAC averaging a double-double, scoring 17.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. She has recorded 13-straight double-doubles and leads the NAIA with 23 on the season. Conicelli ranks in the top five in the NAIA in five different categories including ranking second in total rebounds (358), third in rebounds per game (12.3) and 10th in total scoring (516).
“We are incredibly proud of Jessilyn's accomplishments and this prestigious award,” said Biola Head Coach Ken Crawford. “She epitomoizes the very best as a student-athlete and a person.”
In her Biola career, Concicelli has scored 1,532 points and added 1,093 rebounds, becomings one of three players in the program's history to reach 1,000 in both categories. Conicelli is currently fifth on the all-time scoring list at Biola and third on the rebounding list, all after scoring just 107 points (3.6 ppg) and recording 76 rebounds (2.5 rpg) as a freshman.
Conicelli becomes Biola's fifth Academic All-American and the first women's basketball player to earn the honor. She joins recent Biola honorees Kelsey Christoferson and Meghan Warkentin, both volleyball players, who earned the Academic All-America honor in 2009 and 2008, respectively.
To be eligible for the national team, a student athlete had to have been selected to its District's first team. Initial nomination criteria at the District level includes being a varsity starter or key reserve, maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, reaching sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution and be nominated by their sports information director.
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
Complete CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America Teams: Maya Moore of UConn and Tori Hansen of West Liberty headline Capital One Academic All-America® Women's Basketball Teams.
