NORFOLK, Va., March 5, 2021—Howard University senior Jayla Thornton was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year, the conference office announced today.
Anzhane’ Hutton of Howard University was named Rookie of the Year, while
North Carolina Central sophomore Anissa Rivera earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Howard University head coach Ty Grace was named Coach of the Year.
All awards, presented by TowneBank, were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Thornton became the MEAC’s all-time 3-point shooter this season and sits on 270 career made 3-pointers heading into the 2021 Air Force Reserve MEAC Basketball Tournament. She ranks second in the MEAC in free throw percentage (.817), fourth in 3-pointers made (2.5 per game), and fifth in both 3-point field goal percentage (.336) and scoring (14.1 points per game). She scored a season-high 29 points against Richmond, and she had five 20-point efforts on the season.
Hutton led the MEAC in field goal percentage this season, hitting 52.4 percent of her shots from the floor, and ranked second in rebounding this season (9.5 per game), while also ranking sixth in blocked shots (1.4 per game) and ninth in scoring (11.8 points a game). She was second in defensive rebounding and fifth in offensive rebounding, and her five double-doubles on the season were the second-most in the conference.
Rivera led the MEAC in rebounding (10.2 per game) and blocked shots (3.1 per game, fourth in the nation) and ranked eighth in steals (1.8 per game). She racked up a MEAC-high eight double-doubles on the season, and in conference play, Rivera pulled down a MEAC-best 11.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks a contest, and her 2.1 steals a game in MEAC play were the fourth-most.
Grace led the Bison to the Northern Division regular-season title, going 10-2 in conference play this season and earning the division’s top seed in the 2021 Air Force Reserve MEAC Basketball Tournament. In addition, Howard went 14-3 overall on the season, picking up non-conference wins against Mount St. Mary’s, La Salle, George Washington and Richmond.
Joining Thornton and Rivera on the 2021 All-MEAC First Team are Morgan State’s Dahnye Redd and Chanin Scott and Deja Winters from North Carolina A&T State.
The 2020-21 regular-season divisional champions, first team honorees and other award winners, including Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to the honorees’ first games in tournament play.
The 2021 Air Force Reserve MEAC Basketball Tournament begins Thursday, March 11, and runs through Saturday, March 13, at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
For more information, log on to
www.meachoops.com.