Porath Chosen To All-America Third Team
UW-Oshkosh junior guard Leah Porath was among 25 NCAA Division III women's basketball players named to the 2020 D3hoops.com All-America Team.
Porath, selected to D3hoops.com's All-America Third Team, was previously named to the All-Central Region First Team by D3hoops.com after garnering WIAC Player of the Year honors and being tabbed an honorable mention All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Porath becomes just the third player in program history to garner D3hoops.com All-America accolades, joining Kay Mikolajczak (2004 Second Team) and Taylor Schmidt (2017 Honorable Mention Team) since the awards program debuted in the 1997-98 season.
The D3hoops.com All-America Team is comprised of five players on each of five teams.
The First Team was headlined by Player of the Year Erica DeCandido from Tufts University (Mass.). Aaliyah Hampton from Berea College (Ky.) was named the online outlet's Rookie of the Year while Brian Morehouse from Hope College (Mich.) was selected Coach of the Year.
Rounding out D3hoops.com's First Team All-Americans were Maddie Hasson from Bowdoin College (Maine), Raenett Hughes from University of Texas at Dallas, Sydney Kopp from DePauw University (Ind.) and Leah Springer from Messiah College (Pa.).
The All-America Third Team also included Madeline Eck from Amherst College (Mass.), Abby Holland from Trinity University (Texas), Dejah Terrell from Albright College (Pa.) and Taylor Lake from University of Chicago (Ill.).
Porath had one of the most productive seasons in UW-Oshkosh history, averaging 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game with 49 made 3-pointers, a .489 field goal percentage and a .408 3-point percentage. She led the WIAC in both scoring and 3-point percentage while ranking second in the league in total rebounds (200) and made 3-pointers, and third in both rebounds per game and field goal percentage.
Porath's 524 points this season were the most by a Titan since Wendy Wangerin had 559 in 1996 en route to garnering NCAA Division III Player of the Year honors and leading unbeaten UW-Oshkosh to the national title. Porath, the only conference player recognized on this year's D3hoops.com All-America Team, also became the first WIAC player with at least 500 points and 200 rebounds in a season since UW-Superior's Sally Linzmeier in 2014. Porath's point total this year was also the most by a league player since Sam Barber had 573 for UW-Stevens Point in 2013.
Porath, who was among six non-seniors on the 25-member D3hoops.com All-America Team, started all 30 games this season and led the Titans in scoring on 19 occasions. She has scored in double figures 33 times in UW-Oshkosh's past 34 games dating back to last year. Porath's lone contest with less than 10 points during that stretch was an eight-point effort on 3-for-4 shooting from the field in 15 minutes played during an 88-49 blowout win over UW-River Falls on Feb. 22.
Porath scored more than 20 points in eight games this season, including a career-high 30 points with a season-best five made 3-pointers against UW-Stout on Jan. 11. She also had 29 points against Alma College (Mich.) on Nov. 25, 27 points on 12 of 18 shooting from the field to go along with a season highs of four steals and two blocks against Pacific Lutheran University on Dec. 21, 27 points against Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) during the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship on March 7, 26 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for her first double-double against Loras College (Iowa) on Nov. 16, and 22 points against both Augustana College (Ill.) on Nov. 15 and fourth-ranked UW-Whitewater in the WIAC Championship semifinals Feb. 27.
Porath recorded a pair of double-doubles on the year, including a 15-point and 10-rebound performance against UW-Platteville on Jan. 29. Her season highs also included four assists against UW-Whitewater on Feb. 19 and UW-Stout on Feb. 25. Porath, who knocked down at least two 3-pointers in 17 games this season, went 17 of 24 from 3-point range during the first seven contests of the year.
Porath and the Titans became the first fourth-seeded team to make the WIAC tournament championship game. UW-Oshkosh then culminated its unprecedented run through the WIAC Championship with a 52-50 victory at UW-Eau Claire to claim the program's second straight league and sixth overall postseason title.
UW-Oshkosh (20-10) went on to reach the third round of the Division III Championship, becoming the first Division III women's team to begin the season with an 11-9 record and still manage to advance to the Sweet 16. The Titans, one of 16 teams still remaining when the national tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, have now reached the third round of the NCAA postseason in Porath's past two seasons. UW-Oshkosh concluded the year ranked 21st in the country by the WBCA.
Porath, one of two returning D3hoops.com All-Americans in the entire Central Region, will enter her senior campaign in 2020-21 with 804 career points, 327 rebounds and 109 assists as the Titans seek to extend their program-record string of at least 20 wins to nine consecutive seasons.