Pilot basketball teams earn several individual awards

The Pilot basketball teams collected a number of MCC post-season awards which were released shortly before the conference tournament began. On the men’s side, freshman Zach Miller was named the most valuable newcomer in the MCC as well as being placed on the third all-conference team. Meanwhile, Laura Johnson was named first team all-conference and Georgia Boisse was given an honorable mention selection. Jody Martinez was named the women’s MCC Coach of the Year as he turned in his 14^th consecutive 20 win season. Zach Miller was a strong force for the Pilots this season. Although the team battled injury throughout the season, his offensive support remained constant. He averaged 15.3 points in conference play and scored a season high of 21 points twice. He was the only male Pilot named to any all-conference teams. Miller’s outside jumper along with his sense of the game gives the men’s team a positive outlook for next year’s season.

Laura Johnson has been a huge outside threat all season for the Lady Pilots and contributed to much of their success. Not only was she named first team all-conference, but she was also the honorable mention player of the year in the MCC. She averaged the second most points per game at 16.1 and shot 37.8 percent from the field. Many are also unaware of her defensive presence, as she collected a whopping 70 steals throughout the season which ranks third in the MCC. Georgia Boisse gave the Lady Pilots plenty of support on the glass all season as she finished third in rebounds with 224. She also contributed 7.4 points per game. “I was excited for Georgia Boisse and Laura Johnson to be recognized as two of the top 15 players in the MCC by the other coaches,” Martinez said. “Laura finishing as runner-up Player of the Year and on the first team all-conference is a credit to her work ethic in the off-season and efforts of her teammates.” Martinez also illustrated what an honor it is for each of these players as coaches cannot vote for their own players. In addition, he added that it was a remarkable story that Boisse was given third team all-conference honors after sitting out last season with a knee injury. Martinez noted that he was very humble and thankful for the coach of the year award given by the other coaches and that he appreciated how well of a job the coaching staff had done all season. “I know that Georgia, Laura, and myself couldn’t have been recognized for these awards if it wasn’t for the efforts of the coaching staff and players of this program,” he said.