Lions’ trio earn ASUN Conference basketball honors

FLORENCE — University of North Alabama senior guard Alexis Callins, freshman guard Veronaye Charlton, and sophomore guard Rhema Pegues earned Atlantic Sun Conference postseason awards.

Callins was named third team All-ASUN, Charlton was selected for the All-Freshman Team, and Pegues earned Academic All-ASUN Team honors.

The Lions begin postseason play in an ASUN quarterfinal matchup tonight at No. 3 seed Central Arkansas. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and you can catch the action on ESPN+.

For Callins, her career year continued with her first All-ASUN selection. She averaged a career-high 14.4 points, good for sixth in the conference. She’s started all 29 games for the Lions, averaging 27.8 minutes per game with a 42.4 field goal percentage and a 81.4% mark from the free-throw line.

Callins’ finished the regular season atop the ASUN with 2.9 three-pointers per game, a league-high 84 makes, and 36.1 three-point shot percentage. She was 11th in the NCAA in total makes and makes per game in the regular season. 

She scored in double digits in all but five games this season, proving her worth as a consistent scoring threat. Callins also hit two milestones by scoring her 1,000th career point with a three-pointer against Kennesaw State on Jan. 24 and she hit her 200th career three-pointer on her first shot attempt against Bellarmine on Feb. 17.

Freshman sensation

Charlton was a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman team after averaging 9.9 points in her first year. She shot 39.5% from the field, made 12 threes at a 30.9% rate and was the Lions’ top free throw shooter at 81.7%, ranked fifth in the conference. She also added 107 rebounds, 88 assists, 32 steals and two blocks in the regular season.

The Nassau, Bahamas, native has scored in double figures 13 times while also showing her prolific scoring prowess with two 20-point performances. 

Scoring in the classroom

Pegues, a sophomore guard, was named to the Academic All-ASUN Team, earning her first ASUN honor as voted on by the league’s sports information directors and academic representatives. Pegues, a Biology major, has a 4.0 GPA.

In her second season with the Lions, Pegues has had a career year, appearing in all 29 regular season games with four starts. The sophomore averaged 6.6 points per game on 43.6% shooting to go with 3.2 rebounds per game, and she was a threat from deep with a career-high 29 three-pointers. 

The Olive Branch, Miss., native scored in double figures seven times this season with a high of 13 points against Alabama A&M on Nov. 29.