COLUMBUS, Ga. – University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball senior Mia Antoine was named the Peach Belt Conference Women's Basketball Elite 15 award winner prior to USC Aiken's Peach Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinal victory over Columbus State on Thursday evening.
The award is modeled on the NCAA's Elite 89 and honors the student-athletes competing in the championship event with the highest cumulative GPA. The 2012-13 academic year is the first of the award. The award is presented by GradesFirst.
Antoine (Stone Mountain, Ga./Dominion Christian HS) is the second USC Aiken student-athlete to obtain the prestigious Peach Belt Conference Elite 15 award this year. USC Aiken volleyball senior Samantha Lukralle garnered the honor for Peach Belt Conference volleyball.
In the classroom, Antoine boasts a 3.836 grade point average as a Communications major.
Antoine scored a career-best 17 points in USC Aiken's Peach Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinal victory over Columbus State. She also had six rebounds, four assists and one steal in the game.
A two-time Peach Belt Conference Women's Basketball All-Academic selection, Antoine is averaging 6.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 27 starts for the Pacers.
Antoine has scored in double figures five times this season. The senior guard is in the top-10 all-time in program history for games played.
The Peach Belt Conference will present an Elite 15 Award at each postseason event. Only student-athletes competing in the championship are eligible for consideration. Cross Country, golf and track & field are the only championships that allow every PBC team to compete, the rest allow only the top eight teams in the standings to participate.
GradesFirst provides the tools for athletic departments to monitor the academic performance of their student-athletes. The company is currently partnered with over 225 athletic departments that range from small private schools to large public universities.
**Antoine was presented the award by Peach Belt Conference Commissioner David Brunk**
