The Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that Lancer women's basketball players Miah-Maire Langlois and Laura Mullins have been recognized with CIS major awards, as announced Friday night at the CIS all-Canadian Gala held at the Sheraton Suites Eau Claire in downtown Calgary.
 
Langlois was named the CIS Defensive Player of the Year, while Mullins captured the CIS' Tracy MacLeod Award for her determination and perseverance.
 
Jessica Clemençon was also honoured as a first team CIS all-Canadian.
 
Langlois is the first Windsor player to receive defensive-MVP honours since the award debuted in 2001.
 
The Windsor native took her game to another level this season, after being named MVP of the CIS championship a year ago when the Lancers captured the first national title in program history. The five-foot-eight junior was voted to the second all-Canadian team after she led the country with 3.5 steals per game and finished first in the nation amongst point guards with 5.2 defensive rebounds per contest. Thanks in large part to her fierce defending, the Lancers ranked second in CIS allowing only 51.7 points on average in conference play.
 
Langlois, a business economics student, also chipped in offensively this season with an OUA-best 4.9 assists per game and an 11.6-point average, good for second on her team. Her all-around play helped the defending national champions take first place in the OUA West for the fourth straight campaign and achieve No. 2 status in 12 of 14 weekly coaches' polls.
 
“I am extremely proud of Miah's development this year because of the commitment she made to become a top defensive player in the OUA,” said Windsor head coach Chantal Vallée. “We always knew what a tremendous offensive player she was but this year she grew into a force in all facets of the game. Her defensive stats in CIS speak for themselves and I believe her play this year was a big factor in our team's overall success.”
 
The other nominees for defensive-MVP honours were Dalhousie post Anna von Maltzahn as well as guards Jessy Roy of Bishop's and Katie Miyazaki of Sasatchewan.
 
Mullins, a Windsor native, is the first Lancer to receive the Tracy MacLeod Award.
 
After being named to the OUA West All-Rookie team in 2007-08, the five-foot-10 guard continued to help the Lancers in her sophomore season until tearing her ACL and MCL in January of 2009. She had to observe from the bench while her team won its first OUA championship and finished fourth at Nationals.

The human kinetics student was determined to return to the roster for the following campaign after fully rehabilitating her knee during the summer. Showing no signs of injury, she averaged 50 per cent from the field that season until she partially tore the same ACL again in January of 2010. She still battled to play with a deficient knee and helped the Lancers win their second OUA title and claim the silver medal at the CIS championship in Hamilton.

However, in July of 2010, Mullins suffered a full ACL and Meniscus tear and ended up missing the entire 2010-11 schedule as she had to get a second surgery on the same knee. After more rehab, she intended to play this season, but had another setback in the summer when she was diagnosed with a blood clot behind that same knee and had to remain inactive for months with a possibility of not being able to return to play. However, in mid-September, she received the green light to start training again and has ended up making an impact on the court all season for the Lancers.
 
“It's been hard to see Laura battle back-to-back injuries but also rewarding as she has shown her determination and has been an example of relentless hard work to her teammate,” said Windsor head coach Chantal Vallée. “We feel privileged she is still playing with us!”
 
Dalhousie's Rachael Harrison, McGill's Anneth Him-Lazarenko and Fraser Valley's Nicole Wierks were also in the running for the Tracy MacLeod Award.