Grand Canyon’s Samantha Murphy selected the 2010-11 PacWest Women’s Athlete of Year

PHOENIX, AZ – Grand Canyon senior women’s basketball player Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier Prep) has been selected the 2010-11 Pacific West Conference Women’s Athlete of the Year.

The PacWest made the announcement on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, from its media office in Phoenix, AZ, following a vote by the sports information directors of the league.

Murphy was selected from among the six players of the year named in the PacWest this season – Hawai‘i Pacific’s Frida Aspnaes (cross country), Dixie State’s Anna Cue (softball), Grand Canyon’s Marina Nesic (soccer), BYU-Hawaii’s Yuan Jia (tennis) and Hawai‘i Hilo’s Hillary Lucy Hurley (volleyball).

Murphy led all of Division II in scoring (24.6 ppg.) and free-throw shooting (91.4%) and was selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America as the College Division Academic All-America Player of the Year for Women's Basketball.

The two-time PacWest Player of the Year and four-time All-PacWest First Team selection was named the Division II Bulletin's Women's Basketball Player of the Year this season. In 2007-08, Murphy was chosen as the PacWest Newcomer of the Year.

Murphy led Grand Canyon to a No. 9 national ranking, its first-ever berth into the round of 16, and the Antelopes fourth conference title in the last five years. She is Grand Canyon’s all-time leading scorer with 2,147 points.