Grand Canyon's Samantha Murphy selected Capital One Academic All-America First Team

 TOWSON, MD – Grand Canyon senior guard Samantha Murphy (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier Prep) has been selected to the 2010-11 Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Basketball First Team for her outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments.

The College Sports Information Directors of America announced the team on Feb. 24 from the programs administrative office in Towson, MD.

To be eligible for the Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution, and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

Murphy, who leads all NCAA Division II players in scoring and is GCU’s all-time leading scorer with 1,995 points, has a 3.96 grade-point average and majors in pre-physical therapy.

“This has been something I have been shooting for for a long time,” Murphy said. “I’m very proud of it. It shows that hard work really does pay off.”

This season Murphy leads the nation in both points per game (25.4) and free-throw percentage (91.3). She also has helped guide the Antelopes to a No. 9 national ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll and a No. 3 ranking in the NCAA II West Region ranking.

The Antelopes (23-4, 11-1) are tied for first place in the Pacific West Conference and begin their final stretch of games on Feb. 26 at Hawai’i Hilo.

For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.