Although her team was knocked out of its first game in the Conference USA tournament, Keena Mays has been chosen as the C-USA player of the year, along with the title of newcomer of the year, becoming only the second player in league history to win both in one season.
The junior transfer was the Mustangs’ go-to player in crunch time, and through her efforts SMU clinched the regular season title as conference champions with an impressive 12-4 record versus other C-USA opponents.
Even after sitting out the first eight games of the season, Mays became the conference’s second leading scorer with an average of 19.3 points to go with her sixth-best 3.9 assists per game.
Mays eclipsed the 20-point mark nine times and was a major threat from beyond the 3-point arc where she shot a conference best 41 percent for the season.
Her standout performance of the year was a thrilling triple-overtime 94-92 victory over UAB in which she accounted for 29 points, including two buzzer-beaters, and 13 rebounds.
SMU’s success was a great contributor in Mays winning these awards. The Mustangs at one time owned a 10-game winning streak, including taking care of their first nine conference matches in route to their third conference title in school history.
