Spotts Earns All-Region Honors; Gardner-Bilek Named Coach of the Year

CHICAGO --

** **Annabelle Spotts and

Michelle Gardner-Bilek each brought home a pair of Region VIII honors, as released by D3hoops.com on Monday afternoon. Gardner-Bilek was named the Region VIII Coach of the Year, and Spotts was named a 3rd-Team All-Region selection.

Gardner-Bilek was named Region VIII Coach of the Year following one of the best seasons in University of Chicago basketball history with a 20-8 record overall and a 9-5 record in UAA play. Gardner-Bilek led the Maroons to the National Quarterfinals for just the second time in program history before falling to UW-Oshkosh in the Sectional Final on Saturday night. The 20-win season is the fourth for the Maroons in the past eight seasons and the eighth 20-win season in program history.

In her first two years, Gardner-Bilek has compiled a 35-18 record for a .660 winning percentage which ranks fourth-best in program history. She was also named a finalist for the WBCA National Coach of the Year with the winner to be announced on Thursday afternoon.

Spotts was the top offensive threat for the Maroons this season with 11.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game to lead UChicago. The sophomore increased every single stat total from a season ago and appeared in all 28 games with 25 starts. The Newport Beach, California native also scored in double figures 18 times this season, including a career-high 22 points and four made triples in the Sectional Final matchup with #4 UW-Oshkosh.

Spotts is the 13th-player in UChicago history to earn D3hoops.com All-Region honors, and she is the first sophomore for the Maroons to earn an All-Region selection since Mia Farrell in 2017-18.