Witman and Ward Recognized by WBCA
YORK, PA – The accolades keep rolling in
for the York College women’s basketball team. Spartan head
coach Betsy Witman and senior point guard
Keli Ward (Nottingham, Pa./Oxford) were each
selected by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)
as regional honorees for the 2008-2009 season. Witman was chosen as
the Region 3 Coach-of-the-Year while Ward is an All-Region 3 team
selection.
Witman, who was also named the Capital Athletic
Conference Coach-of-the-Year, receives her first WBCA Regional
Coach-of-the-Year award after leading the Spartans to a sparkling
24-1 regular season, including a 16-0 conference slate. The Green
and White made an appearance in the CAC tournament finals before
being selected to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school
history. Witman then guided the veteran Spartans, who were also
chosen to host the first and second rounds of the national
tournament, to wins over Christopher Newport and Baruch to punch
their ticket into the NCAA Sweet 16.
Ward has been nothing short of brilliant all
year for the Green and White. The experienced point guard has put
up mind-boggling numbers in addition to her stellar leadership.
Ward leads the Spartans in scoring (16.7 ppg), rebounds (7.9 rpg),
assists (7.2 apg), and steals (2.9 spg) while she is also among the
conference leaders, if not leading herself, in each category.
Witman, Ward, and the Spartans travel to
Rochester, N.Y. for the NCAA Sweet 16 at the end of this week. The
Green and White square off with Scranton at 6:00 pm on Friday to
determine one of the entrants into the Elite Eight.
Keli Ward photo courtesy of Eric Linsley