By Jocelyn VerVelde, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech junior Diamond Henderson just keeps getting better. And the Ohio Valley Conference continues to notice.
The Golden Eagle guard from Kennesaw, Ga., has put together her most impressive season, statistically, and for her season's worth of performances, Henderson has earned her second-straight first-team All-OVC award.
On February 17, against Eastern Kentucky, Henderson hit a three-point shot in the Eblen Center to close the first half. That three-point basket cemented her in the Tennessee Tech record books, as she became the 27th Golden Eagle to surpass 1,000 points in her career. She will enter the OVC Tournament with 1,091, currently 26th in all-time points scored.
On the season, Henderson is averaging 19.7 points per game, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 steals. Each one of those statistics is a career-best for the junior.
This season, Henderson also shot 46 percent from the field, 39 percent from deep, and 77.1 from the free throw line.
Henderson also set single-game career-highs in multiple categories this season. At Jacksonville State, Henderson dropped a career-best 37 points on 56 percent shooting. Against SIU Edwardsville, she pulled down a nine boards for the most in her career, and at Eastern Kentucky, she dished out a career-high seven assists to get her teammates involved.
Henderson was a Preseason All-OVC award winner and earned recognition from College Sports Madness as a Preseason F\first-team All-OVC player. She also earned the Madness Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week award on Dec. 16 for her 25-point, four-rebound, three-steal, two-assist performance against Memphis. That same week, the OVC honored Henderson after she followed up her performance against Memphis with 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists versus Florida International.
The Golden Eagles will be in action on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT as they will face with Jacksonville State or SIU Edwardsville in the OVC Tournament quarterfinals at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville.
2013-14 All-OVC Teams
FIRST TEAM
Heather Butler, UT Martin *
Jasmine Newsome, UT Martin*
Marie Carpenter, Eastern Kentucky
Diamond Henderson, Tennessee Tech*
Jordyn Luffman, Belmont
SECOND TEAM
Sabina Oroszova, Eastern Illinois
Candace Morton, Jacksonville State
Chelsea Hudson, Tennessee State
Almesha Jones, Morehead State
Ashia Jones, UT Martin
ALL-NEWCOMER
Ashia Jones, UT Martin
Micah Jones, SIUE
Taylor Mills, Belmont
Tearra Banks, Austin Peay
Taylor Porter, Murray State
OVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Heather Butler, UT Martin
OVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ashia Jones, UT Martin
OVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jasmine Newsome, UT Martin
OVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Rick Peitri, Jacksonville State
* - 2012-13 First Team All-OVC % - 2012-13 Second Team All-OVC
