Abby Selzer, criminal justice junior and basketball center, was named the 2019-20 Sooner Athletic Conference women’s athlete of the year.
The accolade, first awarded in 2019 to OCU alumna Aminat Olowora, is based on seasonal athletic accomplishments and contributions at institutional, conference and national levels.
SAC athletic directors granted Selzer four first-place votes, and she ultimately won by a margin of two points (19-17).
Selzer said she had no idea she was being considered for the award.
“I didn’t know about it until they posted it on Facebook, so I was pretty excited,” Selzer said. “It’s an honor, and I’m happy to support my school in any way I can.”
Brett Tahah, head women’s basketball coach, said Selzer is very deserving of the honor.
“She’s an extremely hard worker,” Tahah said. “She’s an extremely good basketball player and does a lot of things right, both on and off the court.”
Through two seasons and 68 games played, Selzer has produced 1,185 points and garnered several accolades, awards and titles, including two Women’s Basketball Coaches Association all-American nods, SAC player of the week, SAC player of the year, and she has ranked No.1 in the SAC and third in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I in-field goal percentage (63.1%) in 17.7 minutes per game.
Tahah said being named SAC women’s athlete of the year matches Selzer’s character perfectly.
“It just says a lot about the type of person she is,” Tahah said. “She is a great young lady, and the whole program is proud of her, from the coaches to her teammates.”
Selzer said the award speaks to the quality of the women’s basketball team.
“I only look good whenever my teammates make me look good,” Selzer said. “The award is so significant because there are so many people here who could potentially achieve it.”
Selzer said the award represents not only her own abilities and characteristics, but also the university’s athletics programs as a whole.
“Our university takes our athletics very seriously,” Selzer said. “We’re expected to do well in school, and there’s certain standards on how you act on and off the court. The goal is that we are a very controlled, overall nice team that does whatever we can to really support and represent the school.”
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