HATTIESBURG — Senior Brittanny Dinkins and freshman Shonte Hailes garnered Conference USA All-Conference awards for their performance during the 2016-17 season.

Dinkins, a four year starter from Miami, Fla., was tabbed as First Team All-Conference and also received All-Defensive Team recognition. Hailes, a local Quitman recruit, snagged a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman Team.

Dinkins was top ranked across multiple C-USA categories. She lead the conference in total steals (100) and steals per game (3.2), was the conference’s fourth leading scorer (18.2 ppg), ranked twelfth in assists (3.7 apg) and shot the eighth best field goal percentage (.478). The Miami native’s total steals were seventh most nationally and her average was ninth highest in the country. Her efforts helped Southern Miss rank nationally, as a team, eleventh for total steals (345), tenth most per game (11.5) and seventh for turnovers forced per game (21.73). The Lady Eagles also had the league’s second best scoring defense (62.2 ppg).

The senior is the fifth Lady Eagle to ever grab 100 steals and sits twelfth on the all-time scoring list. Against Old Dominion, Dinkins tied the C-USA and school single-game steals record after tallying 10 steals.

Hailes appeared in every game except two non-conference games due to injury. The freshman tallied 25 total starts, averaged 6.8 points per game and dished the fourth most assists by any Lady Eagle freshman (100 total, 3.6 per game). She also owned the conference’s fifth best assist to turnover ratio (1.79). Hailes poured in a career-high 27 points at LA Tech in December and notched her first career double-double a few weeks later with 10 points and 10 assists at UTEP.

Dinkins is the sixth Lady Eagle to be named to the Conference USA All-Conference team and the fourteenth individual to be name to any conference’s all-conference team. This is the fifth straight season that a Lady Eagle has been named to the All-Defensive team and the fourth Lady Eagle to gain this distinction. 

Southern Miss has had a freshman nominated to the all-freshman team for six of the past seven seasons and Hailes is the eleventh Lady Eagle to earn the honor.