Willis Named Women's Hoops' Most Valuable Player
April 29, 2004 | Women's Basketball
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Senior center Courtney Willis was named Most Valuable Player at the 2004 East Carolina University women's basketball banquet on Thursday night in Harvey Hall located inside the Murphy Center.
Willis concluded her career as the fifth-leading scorer in Lady Pirates history with 1,374 points. During her senior season, she became the 18th Lady Pirate to record 1,000 points in a career, averaged 18.6 points and 10.0 rebounds a game on her way to being named first team All Conference USA. The Fayetteville, N.C. native collected a career-high 40 points and 21 rebounds against nationally ranked TCU in ECU's first ever quadruple overtime game. Willis also took home the Rebounding award.
Head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener passed out seven other awards on the night. Senior Alisha Bishop (Virginia Beach, Va.) was named Most Improved Player. Bishop finished her career ranked seventh on the all-time three-point field goals list (58) and served as a vital role coming off the bench to spark the Lady Pirates.
Angela Sye, also from Virginia Beach, Va., returned to the Lady Pirates bench on Dec. 30, 2003 after missing two seasons due to injury. She became an inspiration to the team with her hard work and dedication and received the Coaches Award.
The Scholar Athlete Award was given to junior Samantha Pankey. Pankey, a three-time recipient of this award, currently has a 4.00 GPA and is a double major in English and communications. Earlier this spring, she was named to the Verizon District III Academic All-America first-team.
The Defensive Award was given to Viola Cooper. The Shawnee, Okla. native started all 28 games for the Lady Pirates and was responsible for guarding the opposing teams top perimeter player. She collected 29 steals, 54 defensive rebounds and one block shot on the season. Cooper also ranks ninth all-time in three-point field goals made with 46.
Freshman Keisha Anthony was presented with the Deflection Award. Anthony played in all 28 games averaging 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds a game. The Charlotte, N.C. native scored a career-high 20 points against Tulane and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds against TCU on to her way to her first double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds).
The Lady Pirates finished the 2003-04 season with a 14-14 record and reached the C-USA Tournament for the second-straight season.
2004 East Carolina Women's Basketball Awards
Most Valuable Player: Courtney Willis
Scholar Athlete: Samantha Pankey
Rebounding Award: Courtney Willis
Defensive Award: Viola Cooper
Deflection Award: Keisha Anthony
Most Improved Player: Alisha Bishop
Coaches Award: Angela Sye
Sixth Man Award: Malcolm Gray
