Monday Nov. 2, 2009

AUGUSTA, GA -- The Peach Belt Conference has announced the six members of the women’s basketball preseason All-Conference team as selected by the league’s head coaches. The team increased from five players to six due to a tie for the final spot. Lander’s Shannon McKever and Ciara Lyons were named to the team as were Columbus State’s Phebe Smith, Francis Marion’s Shannon Singleton-Bates, Kendra Chandler of USC Aiken and LeSheria Stevens of Clayton State.

McKever and Lyons were key parts of the Lander team that won their second consecutive PBC Tournament in 2009. McKever was named the tournament MVP and second-team All-Conference last year after averaging 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. A junior from Florence, McKever scored in double figures 22 times and had 11 double-doubles. Her teammate Ciara Lyons was named the PBC Freshman of the Year in 2009. Now returning for her sophomore year, Lyons averaged 12.2 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Bearcats. She was named third-team All-Conference last year.

Phebe Smith was named the 2009 PBC Player of the Year after becoming the first player in 17 years to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding. Returning for her senior season, the Marietta, Ga., native averaged 19.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, setting school records in both scoring and rebounding in the process. Smith shot 56 percent from the field and was named an All-American. Her 625 points scored and 353 rebounds are both the fifth-highest single-season totals in PBC history.

Shannon Singleton-Bates was named an honorable mention All-American in 2009 and first team All-Conference. A returning junior from South Norwalk, Conn., Singleton-Bates led the highest-scoring team in the nation with 13.0 points per game and in rebounding with 5.1 per contest. She reached double figures in 24 of 32 games and had six games of 20 or more points. She helped lead the Patriots to the 2008-09 PBC regular-season Championship, a No. 14 national ranking and a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

Kendra Chandler returns for her senior season at USC Aiken after averaging 13 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Aiken, S.C., native was named to the PBC All-Tournament team. She scored a career-high 27 points in the Pacers’ NCAA tournament game against Francis Marion. This season, Chadler could become the fourth Pacer ever to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.

LeSheria Stevens was a key part of the Clayton State Laker team that advanced to the Elite Eight in 2009. A returning senior from Chattahoochee, Fla., Stevens averaged nine points and six rebounds per game. She scored 18 points in the NCAA Southeast Regional championship game and was named to the All-Tournament team. She was ranked fifth in the PBC in steals and sixth in assists.