Bowling Green State University Athletics
Amy Velasco & Sophie Dziekan each have earned Academic All-District® honors for the second-straight season
Photo by: Scott W. Grau
Falcons Place Four on College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Team
March 27, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Dziekan, Hill, Porter & Velasco all named to the squad
Four members of the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team have been named to the 2023-24 Academic All-District® Team, selected by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA). The team was announced on Tuesday (March 26).
Sophie Dziekan, Olivia Hill, Erika Porter and Amy Velasco all were named to the team. Dziekan and Velasco each earn the honor for the second consecutive season.
Dziekan played in 29 of BGSU's 31 games in 2023-24, making six starts. She averaged 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, shooting nearly 57 percent from the floor. Dziekan's first career start came in the Falcons' game at Wright State (Dec. 12, 2023), and she responded by posting her first career double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds in that victory. In her career, Dziekan played in 101 games, totaling 343 points and 143 rebounds. She shot 54.4% from the floor in her Falcon career, including a 114-for-202 (56.4%) effort over her final two seasons.
In the classroom, Dziekan is a biology major with specializations in ecology and conservation and marine biology, and a minor in science. She has a 3.99 cumulative GPA.
Hill blossomed into a key starter in her senior season, starting all 29 games in which she saw action in 2023-24. Hill averaged 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, Hill also averaged 26.7 minutes played per contest, and hit 16 three-point field goals on the year after going 0-for-1 from the arc during her first three seasons as a Falcon. Hill scored a career-high 12 points in BGSU's win at Xavier (Nov. 18, 2023), and had the first double-double of her career in another road victory, as she had 11 points and 10 rebounds at Western Michigan (March 6). One week later, Hill just missed another double-double, with eight points and a career-high 11 boards vs. Buffalo in the MAC Tournament. Hill finished her career with totals of 202 points and 191 boards in 86 games.
Hill was a human development and family studies major, and had a 3.86 GPA during her undergraduate career. She is currently in graduate school at BGSU, majoring in social work, and she has a perfect 4.00 GPA.
Porter was named to the All-MAC Third Team in her first season with the Falcons. She played in all 31 games, starting 24, and averaged 12.6 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds. Porter shot 66.3% from the field, breaking the school – and the Mid-American Conference – single-season record for field-goal percentage. In MAC games only, Porter had a 68.2% field-goal rate, setting another BGSU record while ranking second on the MAC's all-time list. Currently, Porter is ranked second in the nation in field-goal percentage this season. She had a team-leading seven double-doubles, and ended the season with a career-high 32-point game in the Falcons' WNIT contest at Butler. In MAC games, Porter was one of just three players to be ranked in the top 10 in the conference in both scoring and rebounding. After just one season, Porter owns three of the top-nine single-game shooting performances in BGSU history.
In the classroom, Porter is an individualized studies major with a 3.50 cumulative GPA.
Velasco was one of just two Falcons to start all 31 games in 2023-24, averaging 14.5 points and a team-leading 4.7 assists per game en route to earning All-MAC Second Team honors. In MAC games only, Velasco led the league with 5.3 assists per game, and ranked seventh in the conference in scoring (15.0 ppg). She exploded for a career-high 32 points in a win at Northern Illinois (Feb. 24), and surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career in the Falcons' final regular-season game. She had five or more assists in a game on 16 occasions, and ended January with a three-game stretch in which she averaged 9.0 assists per contest. Velasco now has 1,038 career points, along with 347 career assists. She is tied for ninth in BGSU history in assists, and is seventh on the BGSU list for assists per game (3.44).
Velasco is a physical education and health education major at BGSU, and maintains a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA.
The 2023-24 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Basketball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced April 16 (women) and April 17 (men).
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.
For more information about CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.
Sophie Dziekan, Olivia Hill, Erika Porter and Amy Velasco all were named to the team. Dziekan and Velasco each earn the honor for the second consecutive season.
Dziekan played in 29 of BGSU's 31 games in 2023-24, making six starts. She averaged 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, shooting nearly 57 percent from the floor. Dziekan's first career start came in the Falcons' game at Wright State (Dec. 12, 2023), and she responded by posting her first career double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds in that victory. In her career, Dziekan played in 101 games, totaling 343 points and 143 rebounds. She shot 54.4% from the floor in her Falcon career, including a 114-for-202 (56.4%) effort over her final two seasons.
In the classroom, Dziekan is a biology major with specializations in ecology and conservation and marine biology, and a minor in science. She has a 3.99 cumulative GPA.
Hill blossomed into a key starter in her senior season, starting all 29 games in which she saw action in 2023-24. Hill averaged 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, Hill also averaged 26.7 minutes played per contest, and hit 16 three-point field goals on the year after going 0-for-1 from the arc during her first three seasons as a Falcon. Hill scored a career-high 12 points in BGSU's win at Xavier (Nov. 18, 2023), and had the first double-double of her career in another road victory, as she had 11 points and 10 rebounds at Western Michigan (March 6). One week later, Hill just missed another double-double, with eight points and a career-high 11 boards vs. Buffalo in the MAC Tournament. Hill finished her career with totals of 202 points and 191 boards in 86 games.
Hill was a human development and family studies major, and had a 3.86 GPA during her undergraduate career. She is currently in graduate school at BGSU, majoring in social work, and she has a perfect 4.00 GPA.
Porter was named to the All-MAC Third Team in her first season with the Falcons. She played in all 31 games, starting 24, and averaged 12.6 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds. Porter shot 66.3% from the field, breaking the school – and the Mid-American Conference – single-season record for field-goal percentage. In MAC games only, Porter had a 68.2% field-goal rate, setting another BGSU record while ranking second on the MAC's all-time list. Currently, Porter is ranked second in the nation in field-goal percentage this season. She had a team-leading seven double-doubles, and ended the season with a career-high 32-point game in the Falcons' WNIT contest at Butler. In MAC games, Porter was one of just three players to be ranked in the top 10 in the conference in both scoring and rebounding. After just one season, Porter owns three of the top-nine single-game shooting performances in BGSU history.
In the classroom, Porter is an individualized studies major with a 3.50 cumulative GPA.
Velasco was one of just two Falcons to start all 31 games in 2023-24, averaging 14.5 points and a team-leading 4.7 assists per game en route to earning All-MAC Second Team honors. In MAC games only, Velasco led the league with 5.3 assists per game, and ranked seventh in the conference in scoring (15.0 ppg). She exploded for a career-high 32 points in a win at Northern Illinois (Feb. 24), and surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career in the Falcons' final regular-season game. She had five or more assists in a game on 16 occasions, and ended January with a three-game stretch in which she averaged 9.0 assists per contest. Velasco now has 1,038 career points, along with 347 career assists. She is tied for ninth in BGSU history in assists, and is seventh on the BGSU list for assists per game (3.44).
Velasco is a physical education and health education major at BGSU, and maintains a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA.
The 2023-24 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's Basketball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced April 16 (women) and April 17 (men).
The Division II and III CSC Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs. The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially financially supported through the NAIA governance structure.
For more information about CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.
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