ARKADELPHIA -- Following her record-breaking career for the Reddies basketball program at Henderson State, Hailey Estes is the school's 2019-2020 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.
The NCAA Woman of the Year award, which is in its 30th year, honors graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and have stood out through their work in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
The Conway native was a four-year guard for the Reddies, starting in 114 of her 116 career games. The Conway graduate averaged 12.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, leaving HSU as the schools' all-time leader in rebounds (987), second all-time in made 3-pointers (288) and fourth all-time in points scored (1430).
A two-time All-GAC selection and First Team honoree in her senior season, Estes was the only NCAA Division II player to lead their conference in both rebounds (309) and made 3-pointers (82), and she was named the HSU Female Student-Athlete of the Year in April. Estes was also a three-time Academic All-GAC honoree, one of 14 GAC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes for women's basketball and volunteered her time to various service efforts, including work with the Central Arkansas Development Council, reading programs at Goza Elementary in Arkadelphia and peer tutoring in Kinesiology.
Estes received her undergraduate degree in health and human performance in May and will attend physical therapy school in the fall.
Conference-level nominees will be selected in July and will be forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which will select the top 10 honorees in each division. From those 30, the committee will select three finalists in each division, and the Committee on Women's Athletics will vote from the nine finalists to determine the year's Woman of the Year.
All school and conference nominees receive an NCAA certificate and will be recognized on ncaa.org. On Nov. 1, the Top-30 honorees will be honored and the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced.
Harding, OBU win XC sportsmanship awards
RUSSELLVILLE -- The Great American Conference recently announced its sportsmanship awards for men's and women's cross country.
Harding picked up its third sportsmanship award in men's cross country, having previously earned the honor in 2015 and 2016. Ouachita Baptist earned the women's award for the first time since 2013.
In 2012, The GAC's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee initiated a sportsmanship award to be presented for all team sports to promote good sportsmanship among a school's teams, fans and all involved with the events. The winning school receives a banner similar to the one presented to GAC tournament championship winners.
The winners of the GAC Team Sportsmanship Awards were chosen by league officials and coaches based on a point system.
GAC announces partnership with Hometown Ticketing
RUSSELLVILLE -- The GAC recently announced a multi-year agreement with Hometown Ticketing that designates the digital provider as the official online ticketing partner of the league.
As part of the partnership, the GAC will incorporate Hometown Ticketing's online platform for multiple conference championship events, and during the 2020-21 season of competition, the GAC will make ticket sales for at least two championships exclusively online.
"We are thrilled to enter this agreement with HomeTown Ticketing as the official online ticketing partner of the Great American Conference, " GAC commissioner Will Prewitt said. "With the new realities ahead for our facilities, we are eager to enter the world of touch-free ticketing."
This partnership will provide convenient online ticketing options for consumers, as well as additional security and reporting capabilities for the GAC staff to utilize.
"HomeTown Ticketing is excited to partner with the Great American Conference and its member schools to help enhance their ticketing experience for students, faculty, staff, and fans, " said Ryan Hart, HomeTown Ticketing Incorporation chairman & CEO. "We look forward to our partnership growing in many ways over the upcoming years."