Hillsdale's Katie Cezat Named Division II National Player of the Month for December

This release courtesy of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association

ATLANTA - Hillsdale College forward Katie Cezat and Winona State guard Ana Wurtz have been named co-Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II National Players of the Month for December.

Cezat was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division Player of the Week four times in the 2008-09 season's first six weeks. She has four 20-rebound games in the team's first 10 games and set the Hillsdale College and GLIAC record with 13 blocks Dec. 13 at Ferris State. Cezat recorded Hillsdale's second-ever triple-double in the game at Ferris State with 36 points, 20 rebounds and 13 blocks. She also set the Hillsdale record with 10 offensive rebounds at Grand Valley State on Dec. 20. Cezat currently leads the GLIAC in scoring (27.4 ppg), rebounding (15.9 rpg) and blocks (3.4 bpg) and is first in NCAA Division II in rebounding, third in blocks and fourth in scoring. Cezat currently sits in second place on Hillsdale's single-season block shots list with 35, trailing her own record set last season with 37.

Wurtz scored a career-high 29 points against Bemidji State and was named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Player of the Week on Dec. 15. The following week she upped her career-high to 33 points in a win against Valley City State. Wurtz scored 30 of her 33 points in the second half as the Warriors beat the Vikings 75-59. Wurtz was 9-of-20 from the field, including 7-of-13 from three-point range, a career best for makes, and a perfect 8-of-8 from the line. She also came up one shy of her career high in rebounds as she grabbed seven of those and swiped five steals. The next day against Lynn (Fla.), Wurtz tied her career-high for field goals made as she went 11-of-18 from the field and 6-of-10 from three-point range to drop 28 on the Fighting Knights, a 78-54 win. For her efforts, Wurtz was named MVP of the 2008 Radisson Hotel Roseville Holiday Classic. She went on to earn NSIC Player of the Week for the second time in as many weeks. In six games during December, Wurtz never scored less than 17 points.

Players earning WBCA Division II National Player of the Month Honorable Mention for December include: Jazzmin Awa-Williams, UCCS (Rocky Mountain Athletic), Lauren Beckley, Shippensburg (Pennsylvania State Athletic), Emily Brister, West Texas A&M (Lone Star), Alira Carpenter, Montana State-Billings (Great Northwest), Dominic Cranford, West Georgia (Gulf South), Tatiana Ellis, Saint Paul's (Central Intercollegiate Athletic), Katie Franci, Humboldt State (California Collegiate), Michaela Hawley, Florida Southern (Sunshine State), Taylor Kopple, Bellarmine (Great Lakes Valley), Andrea Leiker, Emporia State (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics), Katie Lintner, Seton Hill (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic), Helen McKinney, Newberry (South Atlantic), Helen Moore, Mount Olive (Conference Carolinas), Jessica Romano, Philadelphia (Central Atlantic Collegiate), Kelsey Simonds, Stonehill (Northeast-10), Phebe Smith, Columbus State (Peach Belt), Latoya Wily, Brigham Young-Hawaii (Pacific West) and Kymira Woodberry, Molloy (East Coast).

*WBCA National Player of the Month is based on achievements during the respective month for nomination. All nominations must come from the conference office and the player's head coach must be a member of the WBCA.

About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as a sport for women and girls. For more information about the WBCA, please visit www.wbca.org