FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood senior defender Shiloh McKenzie was named Big South Women's Lacrosse Co-Defensive Player of the Year, marking the first time a Longwood lacrosse player received Player of the Year recognition since becoming a member of the conference.

In addition, McKenzie was joined by senior midfielder Sarah Butler on the All-Big South first team while senior attacker Katie McHugh was named All-Big South second team.

McKenzie caused a career-best 30 turnovers to lead Longwood for the second straight year and rank in the top 10 in the Big South while also winning a team-high 63 draw controls, which ranks fourth in the conference, and collecting 44 ground balls. McKenzie, who earns first team all-conference honors for the second straight year, is the first Longwood women's lacrosse individual to receive Big South Player of the Year recognition since joining the conference prior to the 2013 season. McKenzie is also the first lacrosse player to receive player of the year recognition since goalkeeper Stacey Schmidt was IWLCA/US Lacrosse Goalkeeper of the Year in 2002 and Emily Bikowski was tabbed the VaSID Player of the Year and IWLCA Midfielder of the Year in 2003.

"It's very exciting that Shiloh was named Big South Co-Defensive Player of the Year," said Longwood's fourth-year head coach Elaine Jones. "To see her growth as a student-athlete both mentally and physically over the four years has been tremendous. This honor is the culmination of hard work and a relentless drive to be the best. She has made an indelible mark in Longwood lacrosse history, and I'm so proud of her achievement."

While she is known for her defensive prowess, McKenzie enjoyed a breakout season as the squad's fourth-leading scorer on offense as well. The Lothian, Md., native posted a career-high 29 goals, including four hat tricks in eight games versus conference opponents.

"When she was a freshman, I wasn't sure where I was going to play her because she didn't stand out on offense or defense," Jones said. "She didn't have much impact in the games and at the end of the season, we had a long discussion about the things she needed to do to get more playing time. Ever since then, she has dedicated herself not only to being the best defender, but to improving all facets of her game."

Butler, a native of Melbourne, Australia, takes home All-Big South first team honors for the third consecutive season after emerging as one of the biggest offensive threats in the nation. A captain alongside McKenzie, Butler finished her final regular season ranked third in the nation in points (86) and seventh in assists with 38, which also ranks fourth in the conference. In addition to ranking among the Big South's top five in points and assists, she was third in goals (48) and draw controls (61).

Along with all-conference recognition, Butler made the All-Academic team with a 3.58 GPA and will graduate with a degree in exercise science this spring, all while going down as one of the best players to don a Longwood uniform. A Longwood Scholar-Athlete, Butler moved into third in career points (217), fourth in career assists (79) and fifth in career goals in program history, and also broke the school's single-season points record to rank second on that list as well.

A product of Burke, Va., McHugh was awarded second team honors following a record-breaking season as one of the top attackers in the country. McHugh tied for first in the nation with a single-season program-record 91 points as a senior and finished second in the conference in goals (52) and assists (39) in her fourth-year campaign, which marks the third consecutive year she's ranked among the Big South's  top 10 in goals and points.

The other half of the league's top attacking duo with Butler, McHugh also has made her way up the program's career record charts. She is second on Longwood's career points list (265), two shy of becoming the all-time leader, ranks second in goals (194) and is tied for fifth in assists (71).

"I'm very happy for both Sarah and Katie on their all-conference recognition," said Jones. "Coach [Ashley] Bruns worked with them a lot on their shooting and feeding, and for both players to earn top rankings in our conference and nationally in goals, assists and points is a pretty amazing accomplishment. They are a great representation of Longwood lacrosse, and I'm so proud of them for finishing out their careers with these honors."

Longwood, who earned the conference's No. 6 seed, will be heading to Buies Creek, N.C., for its Big South Championship first-round matchup against Campbell on Saturday at noon.

#GoWood

FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE             
ATT     Loren Day, Sr., Campbell
ATT     Allie Foard, Sr., High Point
ATT     Emily Meier, Sr., High Point
MF       Shannon Gallagher, Sr., Winthrop
MF       Sarah Butler, Sr., Longwood
MF       Erica Perrotta, Soph., High Point
MF       Katherine Judge, Soph., Winthrop
MF       Kristina Renner, Sr., High Point
D         Shiloh McKenzie, Sr., Longwood
D         Christina Del Sesto, Jr., High Point
D         Colleen Ekert, Sr., Liberty
GK       Alaina Girani, Soph., Winthrop
AL       Charlotte O'Leary, Sr., MF, Coastal Carolina
AL       Callie Francis, Sr., MF, Liberty
AL       Paige Jenkins, Jr., D, Winthrop
 
SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
ATT     Katie Clark, Soph., Winthrop
ATT     Kayla Foster, Fr., Liberty
ATT     Katie McHugh, Sr., Longwood
MF       Amanda Steinmuller, Soph., Gardner-Webb
MF       Kallie Britton, Sr., Liberty
MF       Melissa Placek, Fr., Campbell
MF       Brianna McCaffrey, Fr., Liberty
MF       Leah Pace, Sr., High Point
D         Erin O'Hara, Jr., Campbell
D         Nyra Constant, Sr., Coastal Carolina
D         Maura Talvacchia, Jr., Presbyterian College
GK       Molly Andrews, Fr., High Point
AL       Erica Hitch, Sr., ATT, Campbell
AL       Sara Nolan, Sr., ATT, Coastal Carolina
AL       Hayley Krause, Sr., D, Winthrop
 
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-CONFERENCE
ATT     Alex Fusco, Soph., Gardner-Webb
ATT     Kristen Shriver, Soph., Winthrop
MF       Sophie Crowther, Soph., Coastal Carolina
D         Monique Martin, Soph., Gardner-Webb
D         Melanie Via, R-Jr., Liberty
 
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Erica Hitch, Sr., ATT, Campbell
Gabby Vujanic, Soph., MF, Coastal Carolina
Cassidy McDowell, Soph., GK, Gardner-Webb
Samantha Brown, Jr., ATT, High Point
Kelly Belue, Sr., MF, Liberty
Sarah Butler, Sr., MF, Longwood
Katy Richardson, Sr., ATT, Presbyterian College
Emily Hoke, Sr., D, Radford
Logan McCarthy, Sr., MF, Winthrop
 
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Loren Day, Sr., ATT, Campbell
 
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Shiloh McKenzie, Sr., D, Longwood
Alaina Girani, Soph., GK, Winthrop
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Kayla Foster, Fr., ATT, Liberty
 
CO-COACH OF THE YEAR
John Sung, Winthrop
Lyndsey Boswell, High Point
 
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Erica Hitch, Sr., ATT, Campbell