Feb. 7, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University men's basketball player Mitch Henke and women's basketball player Elizabeth Doran were named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII First Team. Henke earns the honor for the second time while Doran is a first-time honoree.
Henke is a three-year letter-winner for the Broncos and a three-year starter. As a senior this season he has started all 22 games, averaging 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, helping SCU to a 12-10 record. Coming into his senior year, he had played in 86 games and averaged 6.2 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game. His best season came in 2005-06 when he scored 9.4 points per game and grabbed 5.6 rebounds a game. He was slowed by an ankle injury last season, but still appeared in 30 games and started 13 to help SCU finish 21-10 and 10-4 in conference play. For his career, he has now played in 108 games for SCU.
Off the court, Henke also excels, as he has earned a 3.76 cumulative grade point average as a finance major. Last year, he earned Academic All-District VIII honors and was a Division I-AAA Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention. The Minnetonka, Minn. native has also been a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and he currently serves as the president of the important student-athlete organization. As a part of SAAC, Henke has been an integral part of the group's canned food and winter clothing drives the past three years. His efforts helped Santa Clara student-athletes collect the most donations of any West Coast Conference school the past two years.
Doran, a Corvallis, Ore. native, carries a 3.95 cumulative grade-point average as she works towards a bio-engineering degree and her determination and drive in the classroom extends to her team-leading efforts on the court.
"Liz has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort into being the best possible student that she can be," said head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "She fully understands the importance of academics and has taken advantage of the resources Santa Clara University offers to it's fullest. Liz has a very strong work ethic in everything that she does and I'm pleased that she is being recognized for her outstanding performance both on and off the court."
The junior guard earned a spot in the Broncos starting five this year and is in the midst of a career season on the Mission Campus. Along with compiling personal bests in three-point field goal percentage (.444), free throw percentage (.897) and blocked shots (15), Doran leads SCU in all three of those categories. Her efforts on the court have helped the Broncos to remain as the top three-point shooting team in the West Coast Conference. She averages 10.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Doran also has held onto second place in the league in three-point field goal percentage all season long and is seventh overall in 3FGs made. Doran also rounds out the WCC's top 10 blocked shots list.
The women's basketball team faces Saint Mary's on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga. The men's team then squares off against the Gaels on Monday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. at the Leavey Center. Monday's game will be televised live on ESPN2.
