DANVILLE, KY - Centre College basketball coach Jennifer Ruff has been named women's Coach of the Year in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. In her third season, Ruff guided the Colonels to a 16-9 mark (10-8 in conference play), a ten-game improvement from last season's 6-19 record. The Centre women also finished fifth in conference this season, up from last season's eighth-place finish. Ruff played at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y., from 1990-94, where she was captain of four NCAA tournament teams. During her senior year, the Cardinals were undefeated during the regular season and were ranked No. 2 nationally, advancing to the Sweet 16 before finishing with a 28-1 record. Ruff earned all-tournament honors that year. . During her career, St. John Fisher was 104-12 and Ruff accumulated 727 career points. Ruff earned a master's degree at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where she served as assistant women's basketball coach. She subsequently was head coach at Kansas Newman College before joining Centre. In other conference honors for the Centre women's basketball program, sophomore Sarah Green made the all-conference second team. Freshmen Beth Johnson and Jennifer Patterson were honorable mention selections. Green (Western Hills H.S., Frankfort) led the team in scoring and rebounding with averages of 14.6 PPG and 8.3 RPG respectively. Patterson (DuPont Manual H.S., Louisville) led the team in field goal percentage (55%) and was second in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.6 PPG and 6.2 RPG. Johnson (Lexington Catholic H.S.) led the team in three-point shooting (40%), free throw shooting (83.6%) and assists (3.4 avg. per game). The Centre men also earned conference recognition, with the selection of senior Chip McLain (Boyd County H.S., Ashland) to the All-SCAC second team. McLain averaged 11.2 PPG and led the team in rebounding with 7.2 RPG. Sophomore Drew Park (Lexington Catholic H.S.) was an honorable mention selection, and freshman Derek Springate (Boyle County H.S., Danville) made the All-SCAC First-Year Team. Park was second on the team in scoring with 11.4 PPG and led the team in three-point shooting (41%). Springate led the team in scoring with 13.1 PPG and was second in steals with 2.44 SPG. The Colonels finished the season 14-11 overall, 9-9 in conference play to finish fifth overall. - end -
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