Montana State Billings women's basketball team standout Kola Bad Bear has been selected to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association's All-West Region Team, per a news release from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference on Thursday afternoon.
She was one of three GNAC players to be chosen for the All-West Region Team, joining Western Washington's Brooke Walling and Central Washington's Asher Cai, with both Bad Bear and Walling being named to the first team.
Bad Bear, a Billings Senior alum who transferred into MSUB in the offseason from Montana State, was named both the GNAC Player and Newcomer of the Year by the league earlier this month as she led the Yellowjackets to a GNAC regular-season title and school-record 26 wins on the season. The forward has averaged 16.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game this year.
Along with the rest of the All-West Region first team, Bad Bear will now be on the national ballot for All-America consideration, with those teams scheduled to be released March 26. Cal State San Marcos' Jordan Vasquez was named the West Region Player of the Year.
The MSUB women will begin play as the No. 4 seed in the NCAA D-II West Region Championships when the Jackets face No. 5 Chico State (California) in the first round at 8:30 p.m. Friday in Azusa, California. The game is available to be streamed on NCAA.com for a $9.95 fee.
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