FRISCO, Texas - As the Southland Conference prepares for the women's basketball conference tournament this week in Lake Charles, La., they have announced the recipients for their annual all-conference accolades. For Lamar University, the Cardinals have received major awards for women's basketball players Akasha Davis, Sabria Dean, and head coach Aqua Franklin.

Davis earned three total honors beginning with being tabbed as the conference's player of the year. She also earned first team all-conference and was named to the all-defensive team. This past season saw Davis elevate her game to a higher level averaging a double-double with 431 points (15.4 per game) and 305 rebounds (10.9 per game). This included career highs of 29 points at Houston Christian (1/29/24) and 18 rebounds vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (1/18/24). The Wylie native recorded 17 double-doubles to rank 14th in the nation and won four SLC Player of the Week awards. She also achieved her 1000th career-point at McNeese (1/11/24). 

Another first team all-conference member named from LU was Dean. Starting in all 28 games, the senior from Mineola eclipsed a milestone of 100 straight starts going all the way back to her freshman campaign. Like Davis, Dean also achieved her 1000th career-point by getting it against LSU-Alexandria (11/16/23). She tallied 385 points, including her second career 30-piece at UT-Arlington (11/10/23) and grabbed 149 rebounds. Dean added to LU's weekly conference awards by winning three of them herself. 

In just her fifth year as head coach, Franklin has guided LU to their best record since the 2018-19 season. Leading LU to a 23-5 record overall, she guided the Cardinals to a conference-best 17-1 to win the regular season title and earn the tournament's number one seed. In the midst of a 13-game winning streak, Big Red also has conference tops in home (11-1) and road record (11-3). Franklin also achieved her 75th career coaching at AMC (2/29/24). This is the second time that a LU head coach won the award since Robin Harmony achieved this back in 2018.

The Cardinals will have to wait until the 13th of March to play their first SLC tournament game, which will start at 11 a.m. Their opponent will be the last remaining team of the trio of No. 4 UIW, No. 5 AMC, and No. 8 Northwestern State. 
 

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