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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - The Marshall women’s basketball team doesn’t play in the Sun Belt basketball tournament until Friday but they won big this afternoon. The conference named Abby Beeman the Player of the Year while Kim Caldwell was named Coach of the Year. Beeman was also named as an SBC First-Team selection while Breanna Campbell made the third team.

“I’m unbelievably proud of Abby, she deserves this honor,” Caldwell said in a school press release. “I always love it when the players who work the hardest get the reward. Abby lives in the gym, she studies film and she is our leader. She’s one of the most competitive players I have ever coached. She is the heart and soul of this team and a huge part of our success. She is so well rounded and fun to watch. I am blessed to coach her, players like her don’t come around very often. She’s special!”

“Kim is truly phenomenal,” Marshall Director of Athletics Christian Spears said. “As a coach, she captures our student-athletes’ intellect, running a system that is engaging and energizing but requires understanding. She has us playing with relentless passion and purpose while also getting everyone involved in practice and competition. In her first year, she did exactly what we believed she would do - honor her family, represent our community and give us a team that we could all rally behind. Congratulations to Kim and her staff!”

Marshall plays the winner of Georgia State and Appalachian State on Friday at 12:30 p.m. EST from Pensacola.