Jones and Grace Honored

While the Bulls were off on road trips this weekend, two players were honored for their performances this season.

After a stellar senior season, USF women’s basketball guard Shantia Grace was named first-team All-Big East on Thursday, and men’s basketball guard Dominique Jones earned honorable mention for the second consecutive year.

Grace, who was named second-team All-conference the past two seasons, led the Bulls with 15.1 points per game and 4.4 assists per game, scoring in double figures in 26 of 30 games this season.

“It means a lot — it was my goal for my senior year,” Grace said of winning the award. “I wanted to step my game up. It’s definitely the highlight of my season.”

On Nov. 23, Grace scored a career-high and school-record 44 points against Coppin State. Grace said she hopes to continue her career in the WNBA. “If God is with me, hopefully I can make it. If not, I’ll practice hard and maybe play overseas,” she said.

Jones finished this season averaging 18.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He also eclipsed the 1,000 career-point mark in a loss to Seton Hall on Feb. 25.

“With so many great players and teams in the Big East, it is a well- deserved honor for Dominique to be named as an honorable mention all-league pick,” said USF coach Stan Heath in a statement. “He’s been an integral piece to our team and been very productive on both ends of the court. His best basketball is still ahead of him, and he will continue to work hard on improving.”

Jones became the second-fastest USF player in school history to reach 1,000 points, doing so in his 58th game. The fastest was Tony Grier, who did it in 51 games during the 1980-81 season.

— Additional reporting by Alex Cobb.