Feb. 26, 2010

LOS ANGELES - Two LMU women's basketball players were named to the 2009-10 West Coast Conference All-Academic teams, the conference office announced Thursday. Senior Lisa Helmers was a First Team selection for the third consecutive season while classmate Kavita Goss earned honorable mention status. Helmers becomes the second player in program history to be honored three times by the conference and is the first to do so in three consecutive seasons. In addition, the Lions gain two selections for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign.

Helmers, a 5-9 guard from Tempe, Ariz., has been on the Dean's List each of her seven semesters. As a Sociology major with a 3.88 GPA, she has earned Gold Honors (GPA between 3.75 and 4.00) from the West Coast Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of the past two school years and was LMU's lone representative on the West Coast Conference Winter All-Academic team. She is a member of the Alpha Kappa Delta International Honor Society for Sociology.

On the court, Helmers has been the team captain each of the past two seasons and is closing in on LMU's career record for three-pointers made. She enters Saturday's regular season finale needing to sink three to tie the record of 154. This season, Helmers has started 23 of the team's 27 games and is second on the squad with 32 three-pointers made. She is averaging 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Goss, a 5-9 guard from Newbury Park, Calif., gains her first WCC All-Academic honor after weighing in with a 3.49 GPA as a Natural Science major. She is sixth all-time at LMU in both games played (115) and three-pointers made (107). She is currently third on the team in three-pointers made with 29 and is averaging 4.5 points, having started 13 of the 27 contests.

Helmers is the first LMU player to earn three All-WCC Academic honors since Kate Murray did so in 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2003-04. The 2003-04 season was also the only other time that LMU had two players honored, as Murray was joined on the list by Raelen Self.

Helmers and Goss will both play their final games in Gersten Pavilion on Saturday when the Lions host Saint Mary's in the regular season finale.