BIG SKY RELEASE

FARMINGTON, Utah – Sophomore guard, Gina Marxen, was named to the 2019-20 Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.

"It was a great honor last year to be Freshman of the Year, I thought that was fantastic and certainly well-deserved," said head coach Jon Newlee.  "And the respect she got from last year going in to this year, being one of the top guards in the conference, the coaches recognized that.  It's great for her and it's great for our program."
 
Last year's Freshman of the Year, Marxen broke onto the scene for the Vandals in a major way.  She appeared in all 34 contests, starting 31, and finished fourth on the team at 8.6 points per game.
 
Marxen's breakout performance came early on, when she dropped 22 points at No. 7 Stanford.  She finished that night 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, and added three rebounds and four assists.
 
Her play also improved as the season went on.  Marxen scored in double-digits in 10-of-20 conference games, and got even better in the WNIT.  In three games at the WNIT, Marxen averaged 10 points and six assists per contests, while playing nearly 37 minutes per game.

"With Mike and Taylor gone, there's more of an opportunity for her to be a leader out on the floor," Newlee said.  "With our young team that we have, with only two seniors, and the amount of minutes that she played and the great year she had, she needs to step up on the floor and become that leader.  She can continue to develop defensively, there are strides to be made there.  Her 3 was great, I thought she shot the ball extremely well, but we're looking for her to do a few more things and get some more people involved this year."
 
Marxen and the Vandals get their season started with an exhibition on Fri., Nov. 1, against Lewis-Clark State.  The regular season gets underway on Tues., Nov. 5, at Oklahoma State.
 
Season ticket packages are on sale now at GoVandals.com/Tickets for just $49. 
 
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