Prior to the Peach Belt Conference semifinals and finals hosted in Dahlonega, the league office announced its postseason awards, and the University of North Georgia women's basketball team was well represented. Abbie Franklin was named the Freshman of the Year, Buffie Burson was named Coach of the Year and three other players were named to the All-Conference teams.
Franklin moved into the North Georgia starting lineup at point guard on January 15, and the Nighthawks have lost only twice since en route to the PBC regular-season championship. A freshman from Homer, she is second in the league in three-point field goal percentage, fifth in assist to turnover ratio and eighth in total assists. Franklin is the fourth Nighthawk to be named the PBC Freshman of the Year, the first since Janyce Ealey in 2010.
Burson's team won its second-ever PBC regular-season championship and are the top seed in the PBC tournament for the first time. UNG's 19 conference wins are the most by any PBC team since 2012. In her 24th season as head coach of the Nighthawks, the team leads the league in field goal percentage, scoring defense and assists per game and are second in scoring offense and three-point field goal percentage. Burson captures the PBC Coach of the Year honor for the second time in her career, the first coming in the 2005-06 season.
Amber Skidgel, a junior from Bethlehem, was named to the All-Conference First Team after her season that saw her lead the Nighthawks in scoring at 13.1 points per contest. The sharpshooter is in the top six in every three-point shooting-related statistical category in the conference and is 11th in the conference in scoring.
Vanessa Agrusa, a junior from Franklin, North Carolina, was named to the third team after her first season in a UNG uniform. She currently is averaging just short of 10 points and six rebounds per game. She is sixth in the conference in assists per game at 3.2 with the fifth most assists this season (93).
Deana Blankinship was also named to the All-Conference Third Team with the PBC's second-highest field goal percentage at 56.6 percent for the year. A senior from Canton, she has North Georgia's second-highest point per game average at 10.7 and leads the team in rebounding at seven rebounds per contest.
The Nighthawks will take on Georgia College in the PBC semifinals on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the UNG Convocation Center. Both semifinal matchups and the championship game will be held in Dahlonega this weekend.
