Conceicao, Booker earn all-conference selections

~ Conceicao made the women's first team, while Booker was a second-team choice among the men.

Southeast Missouri State's Tatiana Conceicao did not repeat as Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball player of the year, but she again made the all-OVC first team.

Southeast also was represented on the men's side when the all-league squads were announced Wednesday with Roy Booker making the second team and the all-newcomer squad.

Voting was done by the OVC's head basketball coaches and sports information directors.

Conceicao, a 6-foot-2 senior center, ranks second in the OVC in scoring and seventh in rebounding, with averages of 19.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Conceicao, who helped the Redhawks gain a share of the program's first OVC regular-season title, has reached double figures in scoring in all but two games this season.

The Redhawks (20-8) play Samford (21-7) at 2 p.m. Friday in the OVC tournament semifinals in Nashville, Tenn.

Tennessee Tech senior center Emily Christian was voted the OVC player of the year. She is the league's leading scorer at 21.1 points per game, and ranks third with 8.8 rebounds. The Eaglettes tied Southeast for the OVC title.

Samford's Mike Morris is the OVC women's coach of the year after leading the Bulldogs to their best season in the program's history.

Booker, a 6-3 senior guard who played just one season at Southeast after transferring from Montana, leads the OVC and ranks 15th nationally in scoring with an average of 22 points per game.

Booker, who scored in double figures in every game this season, posted the highest scoring average for a Southeast player since Jewell Crawford averaged 22.4 points per game in 1983-84.

Samford senior forward J. Robert Merritt is the OVC player of the year. He is averaging 17.3 points per game while leading the league in 3-point shooting at 48.4 percent. Merritt helped lead Samford to a second-place conference finish.

Murray State's Mick Cronin is the OVC men's coach of the year after guiding the Racers to a league-record 17 conference wins en route to the regular-season championship.