Sooners Celebrate with Awards Banquet

NORMAN – The Oklahoma women's basketball team honored its own at its annual postseason banquet Monday night inside Lloyd Noble Center.

The Sooners finished their season after making their 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament, a run that now ranks as the fifth-longest streak among active Division I teams.

OU completed the 2016-17 season with a 23-10 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Big 12 play, finishing the year third in the league standings.

Senior forward Shaya Kellogg was honored as the team's most valuable player. Kellogg served as a valuable and vocal leader on the practice court, in the locker room and on the bench during games as a Sooner.

On Senior Night, Kellogg poured in a career-high eight points and recorded a pair of 3-pointers in her first career start versus Baylor. After graduation, Kellogg will attend law school at the University of Oklahoma.

Award Winners

Award winners (L-R): LaNesia Williams (Most Improved), T'ona Edwards (Defensive Player of the Year), Peyton Little (Offensive Player of the Year), Shaya Kellogg (Team MVP).

Redshirt senior guard Peyton Little was recognized as the team's offensive MVP after averaging 12.4 points per game. Little led the Sooners with 54 made 3-pointers and averaged 33.2 minutes per contest. The Abilene, Texas, native became the 32nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career at OU. Little finished her OU career ranked sixth in career 3-pointers made, seventh in minutes per game and 25th in scoring. She was named to the 2017 All-Big 12 Second Team.

Senior guard T'ona Edwards was honored as the team's defensive MVP. Edwards, who made nine starts and appeared in 28 games, recorded 36 steals and was known as a lockdowns defender during her four-year career at Oklahoma.

Junior guard LaNesia Williams was named Most Improved after playing in 28 games off the bench. The Oklahoma City, Okla., native provided the Sooners another strong defender off the bench and finished with a .414 field goal percentage.

Additionally, Lindy Ritz was honored with the Sooner Service Award while assistant coach Jan Ross received the Mary Jane Noble Humanitarian Award.

Ritz currently serves as the president of Sooner Stilleto where she helps lead mentoring and networking groups between student-athletes and succesful in women in the community.

Ross, who is completing her 21st year as an assistant at OU, coordinates the team's community service outreach efforts and monitors the academic progress of each student-athlete. Ross collaborates with various local groups to set up community service opportunities for the Sooners. Ross was named the 2013 Carol Eckman Award winner in for her commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage and dedication to purpose by the WBCA.

AWARD WINNERS

Most Valuable Player: Shaya Kellogg
Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Little
Defensive Player of the Year: T'ona Edwards
Most Improved: LaNesia Williams
Sooner Service Award: Lindy Ritz
Mary Jane Noble Humanitarian Award: Jan Ross

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