Hope College junior Carrie Snikkers of Jenison, Mich. (Unity Christian HS) has been voted the NCAA Division III State Farm/WBCA player of the year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
Hope College junior Carrie Snikkers of Jenison, Mich. (Unity Christian HS) has been voted the NCAA Division III State Farm/WBCA player of the year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
The award was presented Thursday in Bloomington, Ill. during a banquet celebrating the championships of NCAA Division III basketball. The WBCA All-America team was also announced with Snikkers joining nine other players on the honor squad.
Hope has advanced to the championships for the third time in school history. The Flying Dutch won the national title in two previous final four appearances (1990 and 2006). Hope (31-1) will meet Rochester, N.Y. (23-6) in a semi-final game on Friday.
The State Farm/WBCA players of the year award are presented annually to the best women's basketball player in NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, Junior College/Community College, and High School. Nominees are selected from the players selected to eight All-Region teams. The top vote-getter is named The State Farm/WBCA Player of the Year.
Co-captain of this year's team, Snikkers is a two-time All-American. Hope during her career has posted an 89-4 record, won three consecutive conference championships and advanced to at least the Elite Eight of the NCAA championships.
"Carrie has unique abilities that enable her to change the game,"observed coach Brian Morehouse. "She is a tremendous low post player who can rebound and block shots. But she can step out and shoot three-pointers, too. She a tremendous passer with the uncanny ability to get the ball to the right people at the right time. She has a great feel for the game."
This year, despite missing eight games at mid-season with a foot stress fracture, she has set a Hope single season record for blocked shots (66). With a season left in her career, she already owns the Hope career mark for blocked shots."
This season she is averaging 13.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. In NCAA tournament games she is averaging 20.2 points and 10.8 rebounds a game. She has had seven double-doubles this year.
She is a graduate of Unity Christian High School where as a senior she played on a state championship team. She was also second in the voting for Miss Michigan Basketball as a high school senior.
A communications major at Hope, she is the daughter of John and Grace Snikkers. She has five siblings including a younger brother Tom who was a starter as a freshman on the Calvin College basketball team.