Ashley and Amber Bray tabbed with All-American honors, Christensen named Coach of the Year

MITCHELL, S.D. – Less than a week after winning its first National Championship in program history, the Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball team landed two players on the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball All-American Teams as head coach Jason Christensen was awarded the Phyllis Holmes NAIA Coach of the Year Award, it was announced by the NAIA Thursday.

 Ashley Bray (Anoka, Minn.) was named First Team All-American following an outstanding senior campaign. She finished her career with 1,689 points, fourth on the all-time scoring list in program history. She increased her point total each year as she finished her freshman season with 257 points and finished her senior season with 543 points. Ashley finished second on the team with 14.7 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game.

 She ranked eighth in the NAIA in three-point field goal percentage after shooting 46.2 percent from beyond the arc. She also ranked 16th nationally in field-goal percentage at 54.4 percent. Ashley stormed through the national tournament as she averaged 17.4 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game through five games.

 Joining her on the All-American list is twin sister Amber Bray (Anoka, Minn.). Amber was named All-American Honorable Mention for the first time in her career. She finished her career with 1,286 points, 14th on the all-time scoring list in DWU women's basketball history and amassed 662 rebounds in her career. Amber ranked seventh in the NAIA in free-throw percentage shooting 87.3 percent on the year. She finished the national tournament averaging 11.2 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game.

 Amber finished third on the team with 14.0 points per game, while leading the team with 6.7 rebounds per game. She also led the team with seven double-doubles on the season.

 Jason Christensen was named the Phyllis Holmes NAIA Coach of the Year, which is awarded to head coach of the National Championship winning team. The Mitchell, S.D., native coached DWU to a 32-6 season, tied for the most wins in program history. In eight seasons as the head coach, Christensen ranks as the winningest coach in DWU women's basketball history with a record of 160-103.

 The Tigers reached the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship game for the third-straight season and finished with a 32-6 overall record and a 16-4 record in conference play.