Sports Briefs

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Delaney Hodgins selected as CoSIDA

Academic All-America Third Team

Eastern Washington University women’s basketball player Delaney Hodgins was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Third Team, as announced on March 12. Hodgins and Idaho guard Mikayla Ferenz are the lone players to represent the Big Sky Conference on the list.

Hodgins is a health information technology and management major and has maintained a GPA of 3.86 through her senior year and is a three-time Big Sky All-Academic selection.

The Pasco, Wash., native recently wrapped up a historic four years in an Eagle uniform. She is Eastern Washington’s all-time leading scorer with 2,120 career points which ranks third in career scoring in Big Sky history. She is just the fourth BSC women’s basketball player to surpass the 2,000-point mark.

She wrapped up the season with 692 points which is Eastern’s program record for points in a single season. Hodgins averaged 22.3 points per game which is currently ninth in the nation. For the second straight year, she was named First Team All-Conference and totaled three Big Sky Player of the Week awards in addition to being named a Senior CLASS Award finalist.

Hodgins finished the season ranked seventh in the nation in field goals made (255), 10th in final points with 692 and 20th in field goal attempts with 524. She also averaged 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 2.2 steals per game.

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

Bliznyuk is Big Sky repeat

All-District team selection

Eastern Washington University and Big Sky Conference all-time leading scorer Bogdan Bliznyuk has repeated as a National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 6 selection, announced March 13.

Bliznyuk was a first team selection. A year ago, he earned second team accolades while teammate Jacob Wiley was named to the first team. A total of seven Big Sky Conference players were among the 10 players honored in District 6.

His honor is the ninth all-district honor won by an Eagle, with Rodney Stuckey the first in 2006 and 2007 when he earned back-to-back first team accolades. Tyler Harvey and Venky Jois were also each honored twice.

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VOLLEYBALL

Maxwell-Dempsey enters EWU Hall

Setter Kim Maxwell-Dempsey and two of the highly-successful Eastern Washington University volleyball teams she played for will be welcomed into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 22 as part of the 18th class of inductees.

Formerly from Calgary, Alberta, Maxwell-Dempsey played for the Eagles from 1996-99 and capped her career by being honored as a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection and as a two-time member of the Academic All-District VIII team. She was EWU’s recipient of the Big Sky Scholar-Athlete Award after finishing her career with 3,475 assists to rank in the top 15 in league history.

Maxwell helped Eastern to a 72-20 record overall and 38-10 Big Sky Conference record, including a co-Big Sky title in 1997 and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999.

The 1998 team finished 24-6 and was led by the record-breaking exploits of two-time Big Sky Player of the Year Kim Exner. EWU was an impressive 10-1 in non-conference play and 13-3 in the Big Sky Conference standings to finish second. The Eagles lost in the Big Sky title match, but still advanced to the NCAA Tournament where Eastern fell 3-1 to Notre Dame.

Exner was previously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007 along with the team’s head coach Pam Parks. In 2014, multi-sport standout Janelle Ruen was inducted after starting her EWU volleyball career with the 1999 squad.

Parks concluded her Eastern career as head coach in 1999, finishing with a 291-256 record in 18 seasons. Inducted Oct. 17, 2017, into the Inland Northwest Hall of Fame, Parks will retire as an administrator in the EWU athletic department at the conclusion of the 2017-18 school year. She graduated from Eastern in 1974, and coupled with her time as a volleyball player for the school, the 2017-18 school year is her 40th on the campus.

Men’s basketball player Alvin Snow was earlier announced as a member of this year’s class of inductees. More individual honorees will be announced later this winter and spring.

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