Complete Release from USA South Athletic Conference
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Christopher Newport University women's basketball great Chelsie Schweers will be inducted into the USA South Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. The class of 2017 was unveiled Wednesday afternoon by the conference office, which served as CNU's home for more than 40 years.
Chelsie becomes the seventh Captain to earn a spot in the conference Hall of Fame. She joins Steve Artis (Men's Basketball), Bev Vaughan (Administrator), C.J. Woollum (Coach), Wayne Block (Administrator), Karen Barefoot (Women's Basketball), and Lamont Strothers (Men's Basketball).
Schweers' storied career was played at Christopher Newport from 2007-2011 as the left-handed guard put together one of the greatest careers in the history of Division III women's basketball. The first four-time All-American in CNU Athletics history outside of track & field, Schweers was named the Division III National Player of the Year as a senior after leading the Captains to the program's first ever Final Four.
The Chesapeake, Va. native put together a statistically staggering resume throughout her four-year tenure. With 415 made three-pointers, the lefty shooter hit more than any Division III player in history, and ranks second in the NCAA across all three divisions. Her name litters the NCAA record book, including the most three-pointers in a single season (133), fourth and 17th most points in a single season (870 & 759), and eighth all-time in career three-point shooting percentage (.461). Most impressively of all, Schweers finished second all-time in career points at NCAA Division III, with 2,869 points. She is only the second player to eclipse the 2,800-point plateau.
She burst onto the scene as a rookie, scoring what was, at the time, the fourth most points by a freshman in Division III history, with 604 in the 2007-08 season. Behind the stout first year, Schweers became just the second CNU freshman to collect All-American honors, and was the first player in USA South history to earn both Rookie and Player of the Year honors. She would go on to earn South Region Rookie of the Year, as well as Virginia State Player and Rookie of the Year laurels, while also collecting first team All-Conference honors.
Over the next three years, Schweers would never slow down, earning first team All-Conference honors all four years. Accolades poured in year-after-year, as she was a four-time VaSID State Player of the Year, three-time Conference Player of the Year, two-time Region Player of the year, and three-time conference tournament MVP. She earned Honorable Mention All-America designation as a freshman and sophomore, and was named both a WBCA and D3hoops.com First Team All-American in each of her last two seasons.
A team leader for one of the most historic runs in program history, Schweers and the Captains won 103 games in her four year career, including three NCAA Tournament appearances. During her junior campaign, the Captains opened the season with a program-record 30-0 start before suffering their only loss of the year in the NCAA Sweet 16. The team would follow that success up with a 30-4 record in her senior year, dancing all the way to the national semifinals.
In the CNU record book, Schweers is the all-time leader in both free-throw shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage, while ranking fifth all-time in overall field goal percentage. She ranks sixth in career steals, seventh in assists, and notched four of the top eight best single season scoring averages in program history. She registered nine games with 35 points or more, including a career-high 40-point effort at Meredith on January 30, 2011. For her career, she averaged 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 2.8 assists per game.
Following graduation, she became the first CNU women's player to play professionally overseas, earning multiple honors for her play in Greece, Iceland and Australia. She has earned a number of professional honors, including Most Valuable Player for the Ipswich Force of the Queensland Basketball League in Australia.
Schweers was inducted into the CNU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.
She will be one of four inductees part of the 8th induction class and will be welcomed into the Hall of Fame on Monday, June 12th. Ceremonies will take place on the campus of Averett University in Danville, Virginia.
