Hope College senior center Carrie Snikkers of Jenison, Mich. (Unity Christian HS) has been voted an NCAA Division III All-American for an unprecedented third consecutive year.
She is one of ten players being honored as a State Farm/WBCA All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The team was announced Thursday prior to the Division III final four which is being played this weekend in Bloomington, Ill.
Snikkers becomes the first Hope player (male or female) to receive All-America basketball honors three consecutive years and the first female player in the history of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) to achieve that fete.
Hope during Snikker's four seasons amassed a 117-8 (94%) winning percentage, was conference champions all four years and competed in the NCAA tournament each season.
Snikkers ended her career as Hope's second all-time leading scorer (1,430 points, 12.9 ppg). She was the career leader in blocked shots (215) and was among the leaders in field goals (#2, 556), three-pointers (#8, 94), rebounds (#5, 785), and steals (#10, 171).
Her statistical accomplishments were in a program that has a proven team-approach to the game by providing double-digit playing minutes for a large portion of the players. Snikkers in her career, for example, averaged 19.7 minutes over the 40-minute contests.
"I'm very excited and grateful to State Farm and the WBCA for Carrie's All-America selection," said coach Brian Morehouse.
"This honor culminates an amazing career. Carrie will be the first to spread the credit to her teammates which tells you everything about her attitude. It's gratifying to see that the All-America selection committee dug into her numbers and understood how incredibly productive she was statistically based on her minutes played per game.
"Carrie had no interest in building her stats. She was excited to share the ball and playing time with her teammates while winning games. The senior class record speaks to their talent, consistency, and team-first attitude."
Co-captain of the team as a junior and senior, Snikkers was an All-MIAA honoree three consecutive years. She was named the WBCA Division III Player of the Year as a junior.
Snikkers is Hope's first multi-year female basketball All-American. Others who have received All-America honors are Kristin Carlson (1995), Amanda Kerkstra (2003), Bria Ebels (2006), and Jordyn Boles (2008).
Joining Snikkers on the All-America team are Kathryn Berger, Washington-St. Louis; Jessica Berry, Utica, N.Y.; Jaclyn Daigneault, Amherst, Mass.; Andrea Hoover, Lebanon Valley, Pa.; BriAnna Lucas, William Peterson, N.J.; Britta Peterson, UW-Stevens Point; Chelsie Schweers, Christopher Newport, Va.; Taylor Simpson, Univ. of Chicago; and Melissa Teel, Western Connecticut State.
Amherst senior Jaclyn Daigneault was named the Division III Player of the Year.
Calvin sophomore Carissa Verkaik was one of 30 players to receive honorable mention recognition.