The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) ranked the McDaniel women’s squad second on its 2006-07 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll.
 
The Green Terror, who had one of its most successful seasons on the court with a 23-4 overall record (17-1 Centennial Conference), was equally as successful in the classroom. The squad ranked second in all of Division III with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.625 for the past academic year.

Led by the senior quintet of Allison Biggs of Sykesville, Md., Theresa Hess of Medford, N.J., Katy Powell of Smithsburg, Md., Heather Thompson of Dauphin, Pa., and Amy Watson of Landisville, Pa., McDaniel exemplified student-athletes both on and off the court.

“I’m like a proud parent with these young ladies,” head coach Becky Martin proclaimed with a sparkle in her eye.  “These are all exceptional young women and it’s really been a pleasure to coach them. I definitely had mixed emotions, though, when I watched the five seniors walk across the stage and receive their diplomas.”

On the court in 2006-07, McDaniel was crowned CC regular-season champions for the first time before falling in the tournament semifinals to eventual-champion Ursinus. The Green Terror also earned its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in a season in which it reeled off a program- and conference-record 19-game winning streak.

The senior class amassed an overall four-year record of 93-21, including a 62-10 mark in CC play. The quintet was part of back-to-back conference championships in 2003-04 and 2004-05, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2004. With its accomplishments this past season, the group appeared in the NCAA tournament three times.
          
Over their four-year careers, the seniors netted 3,457 points and grabbed 1,765 rebounds, earning them numerous accolades, capped when Powell was named CC Co-Player of the Year this past season.
           
Off the court, each was actively involved in campus activities that included induction into six different honor societies. Four of the five also earned the distinct honor of being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Collectively, the quintet graduated with a cumulative GPA in excess of 3.80.

Upon graduation, each had already been either accepted to graduate school or had a job waiting for her. Powell and Hess went on to graduate school, including Hess enrolling in veterinary school. Biggs, Thompson and Watson each went on to high-profile jobs. Thompson is currently employed by Larson Allen, one of Philadelphia’s largest accounting firms. Biggs is working at Lockheed Martin while Watson has a job that works closely with the National Security Agency.

Hardin-Simmons narrowly edged McDaniel with a 3.664 average. Among the five divisions ranked by the WBCA, McDaniel had the third-highest GPA. Only Division I South Dakota State University with a 3.693 cumulative average was higher. The Green Terror was the only Centennial Conference (CC) team honored in the Top 25 list. Messiah (3.582), Heidelberg (3.571) and Susquehanna (3.563) rounded out the remaining top five teams in Division III.

The award recognizes teams throughout the nation that have the highest grade-point averages for the 2006-07 season based on nominations submitted by WBCA-member coaches. The organization annually honors the top 25 teams in NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and Junior College.
           
McDaniel opens the 2007-08 season at the Kean Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 17-18.