Olivia McNally, a senior from Sherman, was named to the USCAA women’s basketball Div. I All-American first team and also was named to the Great South Athletic Conference all-conference team.
The 5-4 guard was instrumental in turning the fortunes of the Presque Isle women’s basketball program around, leading the Owls to an 18-8 record, an improvement of 10 wins from last season.
The senior co-captain saved her best season for her last, finishing as the Owls’ leading scorer and ranking 13th in the USCAA at 16 points per game (ppg). She was also one of the most efficient offensive players in the nation, shooting 44.4 percent from the field, ranking sixth in 3 point field goal percentage (39.3 percent), seventh in free throw percentage (81percent) and finishing in the top 20 in assists (3.5 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio and steals (2.1 spg).
Diminutive in height for an impact player at the USCAA Division I level, McNally nonetheless grabbed 4.9 rebounds per game and had perhaps her best game at St. Josephs of Vermont in typical stat-sheet stuffing form, with a career high 31 points, hitting 5-of-8 bombs from beyond the 3-point arc, six rebounds, six assists and five steals.
“Liv was our heart and soul, on a team filled with very committed young ladies,” UMPI Head Doug Carter said. “She worked so hard making herself into a player that our team could count on, her being awarded First Team All-American status-being one of the 10 best players in the nation, is such an honor and Liv is very deserving.
“Olivia has transformed herself from a scrawny freshman, scoring little more than a basket a game into one of the ten finest USCAA players in the Country; she is a walking success story, a gym rat who made herself into a great player,” Carter added.
Other members of the 2014 USCAA All-American First Team include: Shelby Kohrman, Lindenwood-Belleville; Ashlee Cole, Wentworth Military; Cassandra Baker, Robert Morris Springfield; Lindsay Stoddard, Daemen College; Diamond Burt, Lindenwood-Belleville; Ke’ala Ka’aikala, Rochester College; Tykeria Johnson, Concordia-Alabama; Karla Vietinghoff, Iowa Wesleyan and Annie Artise, Ave Maria University.
