UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Lady Lion junior guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) was selected to the WBCA Division I Coaches’ All-America honorable mention team. She is the first Lady Lion to garner WBCA All-America honors since Kelly Mazzante was a first team selection in 2004.
Bentley is the sixth different Penn State player to earn WBCA All-American accolades, joining Suzie McConnell, Susan Robinson, Tina Nicholson, Angie Potthoff, Helen Darling and Kelly Mazzante. Those six Lady Lions have combined for 10 total WBCA All-America honors in program history.
A two-time All-Big Ten first team choice, Bentley was 11th in the conference in scoring (14.1), fourth in assists (4.7) and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4). Additionally, she was second in the Big Ten and in the Top 20 nationally in steals, averaging 3.0 per game. She had six games this season with five or more steals. The Big Ten All-Defensive team choice led Big Ten action with 49 steals in 16 games. She is the first Lady Lion to lead the league in steals since Jess Strom did it in back-to-back years in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
The Indianapolis native became the 33rd player and 15th junior in school history to score 1,000 career points against Virginia Tech. She is 15th on PSU’s career scoring chart with 1,335 career points. Bentley is also the 11th player in Penn State history with 400 assists and sits in 10th on the program’s all-time list with 455 helpers. With three thefts in the regular-season finale against Minnesota, Bentley became the 13th player in school history to nab 200 steals.
Bentley is one of four Big Ten representatives on WBCA All-America team, joining Ohio State’s Tayler Hill and Samantha Prahalis and Nebraska’s Jordan Hooper, all of whom earned honorable mention accolades.
About the WBCA:
Founded in 1981, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. The WBCA is pleased to join the women’s sports community in commemorating the 40th anniversary of Title IX, which was passed by Congress on June 23, 1972, and provides females with equal opportunities in athletics in the U.S. For more information on the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.