WALESKA, Ga. – On the eve of the conference basketball tournaments, the Appalachian Athletics Conference has announced its all-conference teams. It includes three Bears on the all-conference teams, one member of the all-defensive and all-freshman team, a champion of character and 15 members of the all-academic team.
 
And one more thing: The conference player of the year.
 
Allie Stone has been selected the league's top player in a vote of head coaches in the AAC. The 5-6 junior from Olive Hill, Ky., led the league in scoring with an average of 21.8 points per game this season. That total was also good for sixth in the nation.
 
Stone also averaged 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. She did much of her damage from the arc and the free throw line. She was second in the conference with a three-point percentage of 44.2, and was third in the league from the line, hitting 92.4 percent.
 
Her three-point percentage was Top 20 in the country and her free-throw shooting was fifth.
 
She is the fifth women's basketball player to be named her league's player of the year and the first since Teccoa Gallion, who is also from Carter County, won the honor in the Mid-South Conference in 2001.
 
She was joined on the first team by sophomore Rachel Bush. A 6-0 wing from Greenup, Ky., Bush averaged 14.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Her free throw percentage, 92.8, was second in the AAC and fourth in the nation. She also shot 52.6 percent from the field, which was fifth in the league.
 
India Blyth was also honored, being named second-team all-conference. The 5-6 junior from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, averaged 10.4 points and 2.4 assists per game for the Bears. She was seventh in the league at 38.9 percent from the three-point stripe.
 
Bush was also named to the 10-player all-defensive team. A total of 175 of her 216 rebounds were off the defensive glass, giving her an average of 6.7 defensive rebounds per game, which was fourth most in the league. She also blocked 50 shots and was credited with 23 steals. Her 1.9 blocked shots per game was third in the league.
 
Jaaliyah Warren was named to the 10-player all-freshmen team. The Belfry product averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. She also shot 42.9 percent on three-point attempts, which was third in the league among qualified shooters.
 
Alexis Moore was the UPike representative on the Champions of Character Team. Moore, a 5-9 sophomore from Dry Ridge, Ky., was honored for her representation of the five core character values the NAIA embraces, which are respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership and sportsmanship.
 
UPike's 15 players on the all-academic team tied for the most in the conference this season. To achieve this, a player must be a sophomore or better and have a minimum grade-point average of 3.25.
 
The Bears are, listed alphabetically, Emily Adkins, Paige Ayler, India Blyth, Makala Brashear, Rachel Bush, Iva Cholakoska, Katie Collopy, Willa Davis, Jasmine May, Jaidy Mejia-Andrade, Alexis Moore, Emma Preston, Sheridan Robbins, Allie Stone and Kylie Tackett.