ATLANTA, Ga.- The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has released their 2023-24 Women's Basketball All Conference Team March 1, 2024 in a press release on the conference website and the team includes two student-athletes from Savannah State.
 
Nyla Allen and Amari Heard have both been named the All-SIAC First Team.
 
All conference honorees are voted on by the head coaches and sports information directors in the conference.
 
Allen was named to the 2022-23 All-SIAC First Team while Heard was a member of the 2022-23 All-SIAC Second Team.
 
During the 2023-24 campaign, Allen averaged 12.9 points, 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals a game.
 
The Jacksonville, Florida native had season highs of 22 points against Benedict on February 3, eight rebounds against Kentucky State on November 25, eight assists against Trinity Baptist on November 17, six steals against Lane on January 6 and she went 12-for-12 at the free throw line against Miles on February 7.
 
Allen led SSU in free throw percentage (87%), assists (92)  and minutes played (34.5) and was second on the team in points (309), steals (45) and made field goals (100) and was third on the team in made 3-pointers (13).
 
The senior point guard led the SIAC in free throw percentage and was third in the conference in assists, minutes played and assist/turnover ratio (1.2).
 
Heard, a graduate student from West Point, Mississippi, averaged 14.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.3 assists per game this season.
 
The 6-foot-guard scored a season-high 25 points  and six steals on February 7 against Miles, pulled down 13 rebounds on January 29 against Allen, four assists on January 8 against Morris and two blocks on January 15 against Albany State.
 
Heard led the Lady Tigers in points (329), made field goals (145) and steals (550 and was second on the squad in rebounds (173).
 
Among the SIAC category leaders, Heard was third in the conference in field goal percentage at .465.
 
The SSU Lady Tigers will enter the tournament as the top seed from the SIAC Eastern Division with a 19-5 overall record and a 15-4 conference mark.
 
Savannah State will start their run at a championship on Thursday, March 7 at 12 noon against the winner of the contest between Tuskegee University (14-9, 11-8 SIAC) and Allen University (11-14, 7-12 SIAC).
 
The winner of this game will advance to the semifinals on Saturday, March 9 at 10 a.m.