Harris Named C-USA Freshman, Sixth Player of the Year

Published March 7, 2010 at 8:11 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB guard Jala Harris was named the Conference USA Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year, as announced on Sunday by the league office. Harris becomes the first player in conference history to earn both awards in the same season.

She also is the first player in school history to earn both C-USA Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year honors in her career.

An second-team all-conference honoree this year, Harris made her way into the C-USA record book with a 40-point performance at Marshall on Jan. 30, setting a freshman record for points in a league contest. It also marked just the third time in history a player has cracked the 40-point mark in a C-USA game. The Madison, Ala., native is one of three Division I freshmen to have reached this mark in 2009-10.

Harris’ 16.4 points per game rank fifth in C-USA, third among freshmen in the Mideast Region and 11th in the NCAA among freshmen. The 5-6 guard also tops the club in assists with a 3.2 average, 10th-best in C-USA. Additionally, Harris picked up five C-USA Freshman of the Week accolades this season, the most in league history, including a record four straight from Jan. 11 to Feb. 1.

The C-USA Sixth Player of the Year has come off the bench in all but one league contest this year.

Harris joins former Blazers Deanna Jackson and Michelle Smith as C-USA Freshman of the Year honorees, and Erika Cosby, Britney Jones and Amanda Peterson as winners of the conference’s Sixth Player of the Year award.

In addition to player of the year awards, Harris was also named to the C-USA All-Freshman team. She joins Nicole Dickson (Memphis), Olivia Grayson (Tulane), Taleya Mayberry (Tulsa) and Anete Steinberga (UTEP) on the all-freshman team.

Harris and the Blazers continue to prep for the opening round of the C-USA Championship, facing host and 11th-seeded Tulsa on Monday at 6 p.m. CST. The C-USA Championship is being held at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla. Live video and audio will be available at uabsports.com.

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