Cincinnati's IImar'I Thomas Voted 2021 American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player Of The Year

Posted: March 7, 2021 -- 6:16 p.m. CT

Cincinnati senior forward IImar'I Thomas captured Player of the Year honors to highlight the American Athletic Conference regular-season women's basketball award winners as voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. Thomas became the first Bearcat player to ever earn top player honors in women's basketball in The American.

Tulane freshman guard JerKaila Jordan secured just the second unanimous conference Freshman of the Year citation in league history, while USF head coach Jose Fernandez earned the title of American Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. East Carolina senior guard Lashonda Monk repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, and UCF sophomore guard Alisha Lewis captured Newcomer of the Year. USF junior point guard Elisa Pinzan was tabbed as the Most Improved Player of the Year, and Lewis and USF sophomore guard Maria Alvarez were tabbed as the co-Sixth Players of the Year. Tulane senior guard Sierra Cheatham earned an unprecedented third straight Ambassador Award.

Thomas claimed her second career major award in The American after being selected as the conference Freshman of the Year in 2018. A four-time league Player of the Week recipient in 2020-21 (10 times for her career), Thomas led The American with 23.9 points per game and a 54.5 field goal percentage in 22 regular-season starts. Her points per game average is on pace to break the conference single-season record of 22.4 points per contest set by Courtney Williams of USF in the 2015-16 campaign. Thomas is also the league leader in free-throw percentage (81.8) and minutes played per game (39.3) and ranks sixth in rebounding (7.5 rebounds per game) and seventh in assists (3.5 assists per game) per game entering the conference tournament. Her five 30-point games this season are just one off equaling the top mark in American history set by SMU's Keena Mays (2013-14) and USF's Kitija Laksa (2016-17).

Thomas gathered in first-team all-conference honors for the third straight season, just the fifth American player to be recognized as a unanimous all-conference selection in consecutive years joining UConn's Breanna Stewart (2014-16), Moriah Jefferson (2015-16) and Katie Lou Samuelson (2017-19), and USF's Williams (2015-16).

---

SUPPORT The Houston Roundball Review:

Shop at Fanatics.com via this link;

Get ESPN+ via this link;

Save when you get the Disney bundle (ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu) with this link;

OR, contribute via PayPal or the Cash App.

---

Jordan joined USF's Laksa in 2016 as the only unanimous American Freshman of the Year selections. In 23 starts during the regular season, Jordan averaged 49.7 percent shooting from the floor to rank second, 16.8 points per contest to rank third, 71.9 percent from the free-throw line to rank fifth and 2.1 steals per game to rank sixth in The American among all players. She was named American Freshman of the Week a record seven times during the season, was The American Player of the Week on December 14 and was also included on the league's weekly honor roll on February 8 and March 5.

Fernandez, previously named the American Coach of the Year in 2018, guided USF to the first regular-season championship in program history with a 13-2 mark in conference play. The Bulls were ranked 15th in the most recent Associated Press Poll and 14th in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll entering the American tournament as the top overall seed. Fernandez is among the 10 semifinalists for the 2021 Naismith Coach of the Year award.

Monk staked claim to the first repeat Defensive Player of the Year honor in conference history during her senior campaign, averaging 13.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game. Monk, the career leader in total steals (369) and steals per game (3.35) in The American, led all players in steals per contest and ranked second overall behind teammate Dominique Claytor with 53 steals in the regular season. As a team, East Carolina's 252 team steals and 12.0 steals per game paced the conference.

Lewis shined as the sixth player for conference runner-up UCF, averaging 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 17 games. The Syracuse transfer is the first player in conference history to win two major awards in the same season as both the top newcomer and co-sixth player. Alvarez also played a key role off the bench for regular-season champion USF with a 7.8 points per game average. Returning from a season-ending injury in 2019-20, Alvarez shot a combined 39.0 percent from 3-point range and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line during the regular season.

Pinzan has quarterbacked the USF lineup to five wins over the NET Top 100 and a consistent standing among the national top 15, averaging 9.6 points and a conference-best 7.0 assists per game and 3.3 assist/turnover ratio in 18 starts. An all-conference third-team selection last season, Pinzan was the American Player of the Week on December 7 and January 18 of the 2020-21 campaign.

Cheatham received the Ambassador Award, which reflects and celebrates the ideals of sportsmanship on and off the court, for the third time in as many years. Emphasis on ethical behavior, fair play and integrity and community service are considered when selecting the winner of the Ambassador Award. Cheatham is Tulane's second such honoree, joining former Green Wave player Leslie Vorpahl (2017).

The American's all-conference teams were highlighted by the lone unanimous choice in Cincinnati's Thomas and Tulane's Jordan, the first freshman ever named to The American's top squad. Temple senior forward Mia Davis secured all-conference first-team plaudits for the third straight season, while USF sophomore guard Elena Tsineke and senior forward Bethy Mununga were first-time honorees on the first team.

---

SUPPORT The Houston Roundball Review:

Shop at Fanatics.com via this link;

Get ESPN+ via this link;

Save when you get the Disney bundle (ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu) with this link;

OR, contribute via PayPal or the Cash App.

---

Player of the Year - IImar'I Thomas, Sr., F, Cincinnati

Freshman of the Year - JerKaila Jordan, Fr., G, Tulane*

Coach of the Year - Jose Fernandez, USF

Defensive Player of the Year - Lashonda Monk, Sr., G, East Carolina

Newcomer of the Year - Alisha Lewis, So., G, UCF

Most Improved Player of the Year - Elisa Pinzan, Jr., PG, USF

Co-Sixth Players of the Year - Alisha Lewis, So., G, UCF and Maria Alvarez, So., G, USF

Ambassador Award - Sierra Cheatham, Sr., G, Tulane

First Team All-Conference

IImar'I Thomas, Sr., F, Cincinnati*

Bethy Mununga, Sr., F, USF

Elena Tsineke, So., G, USF

Mia Davis, Sr., F, Temple

JerKaila Jordan, Fr., G, Tulane

Second Team All-Conference

Courtajia Sanders, Sr., G, UCF

Lashonda Monk, Sr., G, East Carolina

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, Sr., F, Memphis

Elisa Pinzan, Jr., PG, USF

Asia Strong, Jr., F, Wichita State

Third Team All-Conference

Brittney Smith, Jr., F, UCF

Miya Crump, R-So., G, Houston

Sydni Harvey, Jr., G, USF

Krystal Freeman, Sr., F, Tulane

Maya Mayberry, Jr., G, Tulsa

All-Freshman Team

Jillian Hayes, Fr., G, Cincinnati

Laila Blair, Fr., G, Houston

Jasha Clinton, Fr., G, Temple*

JerKaila Jordan, Fr., G, Tulane*

Wyvette Mayberry, Fr., G, Tulsa*

*denotes unanimous selection

CLICK HERE for more NCAAW news and info.