CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Gardner-Webb seniors Candace Brown and Olivia Parker have been named First-Team All-Conference, while redshirt junior Alicia Quinn was named to the All-Academic team , announced the Big South on Tuesday afternoon.
Brown and Parker are the first players from Gardner-Webb to be named First-Team All-Conference, since Dominique Hudson earned first-team accolades in 2010-11.
Brown finished second in the Player of the Year voting, totaling two-first place votes and 122 points, trailing Player of the Year selection Chatori Major (UNC Asheville), who received six first-place votes and 138 points.
The senior guard started all 30 games for the Runnin' Bulldogs this season and was second in the Big South in scoring with 14.5 points per contest. Brown had arguably her best season as a Runnin' Bulldog, setting career-highs in free throws, free-throw percentage, rebounds, and blocks. The native of Hinton, W.Va. is currently Gardner-Webb's all-time leader in minutes played (3,713) and earlier this season, became the 21st player in school history to achieve 1,000 points for her career.
Brown was named the Big South Player of the week two different times this season. The 5-9 senior started the season off in historic fashion, as she scored the game-winning layup with 1.2 seconds left to upset #20 North Carolina, for the program's first win over a ranked team as well as an NCAA opponent.
Parker earned the All-Conference accolade for the second time in her career, as she was named Second-Team All-Conference as a junior. Parker was third in the conference with 13.7 points-per-game and ranked second with 9.4 rebounds. The native of Charlotte, N.C. totaled 14 double-doubles this season and ranked in the top-five of the conference in field goal percentage, blocks, and offensive rebounds. Saving the best for her senior season,
Parker totaled three games with 20 or more points and five games with 14 or more rebounds, including pouring in a career-best 28 points against Pacific and totaled seven blocks at High Point, which is tied for the second most blocks in a single game in GWU history. One of the school's best defensive players, Parker ranks third in GWU history in both offensive, defensive, and total rebounds, as well as blocked shots.
Quinn was named to the All-Academic team for a second-straight season. A chemistry major, Quinn posts a 3.71 cumulative GPA and plans on attending medical school after graduation. The native of nearby Charlotte, N.C. has fought injuries for most of her career, but has persevered to play in all 62 games over the past two seasons, including starting in all 30 games this season. The senior forward set career-highs in minutes, field goal percentage, as well as rebounds in 2015-16.
Gardner-Webb finished the regular-season with a 19-11 overall record and earned the fourth seed in the Big South Tournament, where they will take on fifth seeded Presbyterian Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
