HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – In what continues to be a history making season, under the most adverse circumstances, Alabama A&M Athletics continues to deliver impressive accomplishments, the latest being junior women's basketball forward Dariauna Lewis (Omaha, Neb.) becoming the first Bulldog in any sport in the past 29 years to earn a spot on a CoSIDA Academic All-District Team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday, May 6.
 
It is a prestigious honor that not only puts her among the 51 best women's basketball student-athletes in the country but also puts her inline to potentially become just the fourth CoSIDA Academic All-America in program history. She would join football's Tim McCannelly (Second-Team in 1979-80) and Tracy Kendall (First-Team in 1989-90 and 1990-91) in that select group.
 
According to available CoSIDA records which date back to 2001-02, those are also the only other individuals to earn Academic All-District honors since 1990-91, making it a span of 29 years since A&M had someone accomplish the feat.
 
On top of that program history, Lewis also sets herself apart among her peers in this year's group of honorees as she is the only selection from a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) school or Historically Black College or University (HBCU). That includes the men's Academic All-District Team which was released earlier today and totaled 44 individuals, making her the only HBCU representative among 95 honorees.
 
Selected as one of nine individuals out of the highly competitive District 4, Lewis is joined on this year's team by Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Sydni Harvey (South Florida), Lilly Hatton (Wofford), Lotta-Maj Lahtinen (Georgia Tech), Antoinette Lewis (South Alabama), Jada Lewis (Mercer), Jordan Lewis (Alabama) and Shannon Titus (Mercer).
 
To put in perspective just how difficult it is to land a spot out of District 4, it covers all of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, meaning that the competition includes the bulk of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and a large portion of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Among the teams that Lewis beat out to earn her spot were Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Miami, Clemson and Florida State as well as schools such as South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia Tech which did earn spots on the team.
 
You don't earn that honor against that level of competition without being among the very best both in the classroom and on the court – and Lewis has been both in her career.
 
With the COVID-19 impacted season, CoSIDA made the decision to evaluate nominees by career statistics and accomplishments rather than just the 2020-21 campaign.
 
A biology major, she entered the spring semester with an impressive 3.77 Grade Point Average (GPA) and has also been selected to the SWAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and SWAC All-Academic Team in 2019-20 as well as the AAMU Athletic Directors Honor Roll in 2019 and 2020.
 
A walking double-double on the court, Lewis has career averages of 16.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.3 steals and 1.0 assists per game and has shot .630 from the field in 47 career games and starts with the Bulldogs.
 
Those performances have netted her a number of high-profile honors, including National Player of the Year by Black College Sports Network (BCSN) in 2020-21, three First-Team All-American awards (BOXTOROW in 2019-20, 2020-21 and BCSN in 2020-21), SWAC Newcomer of the Year (2019-20) and All-SWAC First-Team in both years in the league.
 
Additionally, she has been named BOXTOROW National Player of the Week (2020-21) and is a seven-time SWAC Player of the Week and one-time league honoree as its Impact Player of the Week (2020-21).
 
A force to be reckoned with, Lewis has registered double-digit scoring efforts in 42 of her 47 career games with 24 of those resulting in double-doubles. Of the latter she has a pair of 20-point, 20-rebound games and has 14 games of at least 20 points, topping out at 31 on two occasions.
 
Highlighting those career numbers was a 2020-21 season that saw her average 17.8 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and nearly an assist and steal per game while shooting .604 from the field (122-of-202).
 
She recorded 14 double-doubles, including nine in a row at one point, and finished second in the nation in rebounding, seventh in field goal percentage, ninth in defensive rebounds (8.8), 14^th in offensive rebounds (4.2) and 16^th in double-doubles. She also led the SWAC in rebounding and field goal percentage and was second in points and blocks per game.
 
"This is an awesome accomplishment," said head coach Margaret Richards. "I am so proud of Ms. Lewis. She has excelled every year, on and off the court, since she has been here. She is a tireless worker and a great example of what it looks like to be successful and win in the classroom as a student-athlete. I always preach to my young ladies the importance of achieving high academic success and Dariauna has taken pride in this area and has even tutored her teammates. She has been an outstanding demonstration of what I want my upperclassman to be like – an academic champion."
 
Lewis is now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America honors which will be announced on Friday, May 28.
 
ABOUT THE COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA PROGRAM
The 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Basketball Teams, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
 
To be eligible for Academic All-District and All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
 
2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Basketball Teams (District 4)

Name		School	Yr.	GPA	Major
Aliyah Boston		South Carolina	So.	3.80	Mass Communications
Sydni Harvey		South Florida	Jr.	3.74	Marketing
Lilly Hatton		Wofford	So.	4.00	Biology
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen		Georgia Tech	Jr.	3.58	Business Administration
Antoinette Lewis		South Alabama	Sr.	3.50	Exercise Science
Dariauna Lewis		Alabama A&M	Jr.	3.77	Biology
Jada Lewis		Mercer	Gr.	3.74/4.0	Higher Education Leadership
Jordan Lewis		Alabama	Gr.	3.76/3.42	Marketing (UG)/Business Administration (G)
Shannon Titus		Mercer	Sr.	3.56	Finance

Alabama A&M History of Academic All-District Selections (4 Selections/3 Individuals)
2020-21 – Dariauna Lewis (Women's Basketball)
1990-91 – Tracy Kendall (Football)%
1989-90 – Tracy Kendall (Football)%
1979-80 – Tim McCannelly (Football)*
%First-Team Academic All-American (only individual to accomplish in program history)
*First Academic All-American in Program History