Western Kentucky University junior Chastity Gooch has been named an All-Region nominee for the WBCA Coaches' All America Team, it was announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association on Tuesday afternoon.
Franklin-Simpson alum Gooch is one of 52 players nationally that a selection committee will name the 10-member WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America Team from. The 2014 WBCA Division I Coaches' All-America Team will be announced at 1:10 p.m. Saturday, April 5, during NCAA Women's Final Four Super Saturday festivities in Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.
Gooch, the Most Outstanding Player at the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championships, averaged 18.4 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game this season, including a 19.7 point and 7.9 rebound mark in league games. Gooch posted 21.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per contest during the recent Sun Belt Conference Championships run, including a 26-point, 12 rebound performance in the championship game against Arkansas State.
On the national stage of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, Gooch recorded 23 points and nine rebounds against No. 5 Baylor in the opening round of the tournament. Her performance drew comparisons to Maryland All-American Alyssa Thomas from ESPN commentators.
Gooch recently earned Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, becoming just the second player in league history to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Gooch is the only Lady Topper player to win the award in program history. The honor was first awarded in 1996-97.
Gooch is one of just four players in program history to record 500 points as both a sophomore and junior at WKU alongside the likes of Crystal Kelly, Tiffany Porter-Talbert and Lillie Mason of Olmstead. Her 606 points in 2013-14 were the 10th most in a single season in WKU history.
Gooch faced off with six of the players that were named All-Region nominees for the WBCA Coaches' All-America Team in 2013-14, including Louisville's Shoni Shimmel and Sara Hammond, Vanderbilt's Christina Foggie and Jasmine Lister and Baylor's OIdyssey Sims and Nina Davis. Overall, Gooch is one of 21 underclassmen to receive the honor.
WKU (24-9, 13-5) reached the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history after securing the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by posting a 61-60 win over Arkansas State in the title game of the Sun Belt Conference Championships. WKU scored 18 of the final 22 points of the game to beat Red Wolves, marking the fourth time during the 2013-14 season that WKU had overcome a double-digit deficit to win a game.