NATCHITOCHES—In addition to Northwestern State earning its most conference wins in 23 seasons, it was also dominant just as much off the court as well.

Five players—Vernell Atamah, Tiara Abron, Carla Celaya, Clarence Djuela and Joceline Geara—have earned a spot on the Academic All-Southland Conference team.

Atamah, a sophomore from Mesquite, Texas, earns an all-academic spot for the second time in as many seasons.

She was named the SLC Player of the Year after she averaged 19.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Atamah also was named First Team All-Louisiana and made a school-record 93 3-pointers.

In the classroom, she recorded a 3.606 GPA, majoring in health and exercise science.

Back on the court, sophomore cracked 1,000 total points in two seasons, the second youngest and fourth fastest player in program history to accomplish it. Atamah was the fourth player in program history to ever have 600 points and 200 rebounds in the same season and the first since Pam Hudson in 1989-90.

Celaya, a senior from Barcelona, was second in the rebounding in the Southland at 7.9 boards per game. She had 10 double figure rebounding games, including a season-high 13 on three occasions. This season, she recorded two double-doubles, against Purdue Fort Wayne and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

In the classroom, she posted a GPA in 3.315 in the difficult major of biology.

The senior also a tremendous defender as well, as she and Abron routinely guarded the best scorers on the opposition. With the game on the line, she forced a turnover and a miss to seal wins over Lamar and at Nicholls, respectively.

Abron, a graduate student from Senatobia, Miss., was also a tremendous defender, which helped the Demons be one of the best defensive units in the conference.

She averaged 9.3 points per game, which finished third on the team.

In the classroom, she posted a 3.687 GPA in general studies.

Abron scored in double figures in 16 games, including a season-high 18 two times during SLC play. That includes an 18-point performance on 8-of-15 shooting in the conference-opening win at Southeastern Louisiana.

Djuela makes her first appearance in the academic all-conference team after a season in which she started all 32 games. She led team in field goal percentage (.515) and would have been third in the Southland if she had met the requirements.

The sophomore from Berlin was second on the team in rebounding and fourth in the Southland. That includes a whopping 17, including 10 on the offensive glass, in the home game with UIW.

In the classroom, she sported a 3.773 GPA while majoring in criminal justice.

Djuela scored 5.7 points per game. Her biggest basket came on a go-ahead layup late in the big win at regular season champion McNeese.

The fifth one is Geara, who posted a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in business administration.

Geara, a sophomore from Lebanon, always showed up with a great attitude on and off the court.

On the court, she shot 34.6 percent from deep, second among players on the team with at least 20 triple attempts. She posted season highs in points (10), assists (6) and minutes (21) in the dominant win over Arkansas Baptist.

The Student-Athlete of the Year went to UTRGV's Charlotte O'Keefe.