Nashville Standard

After helping lead the Belmont University women's basketball team to within a ball bounce of the program's first Sweet 16 appearance against the storied University of Tennessee, sophomore guard Destinee Wells has been selected as Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) Player of the Year. Announced Wednesday morning, Wells becomes the first Bruin to be named TSWA Player of the Year since Darby Maggard in 2019.

Recently, Wells garnered All-American honorable mention honors from World Exposure Report. The Lakeland, Tennessee (Houston HS), native was once again one of the top young players in the nation in 2021-22 as she aided Belmont (23-8, 16-2 OVC) to a second-straight NCAA Tournament Round of 32 appearance.

Tabbed All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team for the second consecutive season, Wells became only the second player in OVC history to be named OVC Tournament MVP as both a freshman and sophomore. After averaging 16.1 points and five assists in league play, Wells averaged 21 points in the Bruins' sixth OVC Tournament title run in seven seasons. She was sensational in the OVC Championship title game against Tennessee Tech, pouring in 22 points as the contest's lone double-figure scorer. That performance came on the heels of scoring 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting and going a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line in the OVC Championship semifinal win over Austin Peay.

Wells continued her remarkable play in the NCAA Tournament where she averaged 19 points, 5.5 assists, five rebounds and two steals against fifth-seeded Oregon and fourth-seeded Tennessee. In Belmont's thrilling double-overtime NCAA Tournament First Round victory over the Ducks inside Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, Wells tallied 16 points, distributed a game-high seven assists and grabbed four rebounds. Against the 18th-ranked Lady Volunteers in the NCAA Tournament Second Round, Wells posted a game-best 22 points, secured six boards and dished out four assists.

Wells also led all scorers in the Bruins' regular season matchup at Final Four contender, Wichita Regional champion and top-five ranked Louisville with 19 points on Dec. 5.

Seven of Wells' 11 20-point outings in 2021-22 came in the months of February and March and she scored a season-high 27 points in key road victories at Tennessee Tech (Feb. 5) and Murray State (Feb. 24).

For the season, Wells averaged 16.7 points, 4.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and a steal. She ranked among the top 65 players in the nation in both total assists (140) and assists per game, while second in the OVC in scoring and assists.

Reaching double figures in all but two games in 2021-22, Wells finished the season with 519 points, 140 assists and 112 rebounds. The floor general has scored in double figures in 43 of her last 45 games and 51 of her 56 career games. Starting in all but one game she's donned the Belmont jersey, Wells is only 36 points away from becoming the Bruins' 33rd 1,000-point scorer. She has also compiled 255 assists and 188 rebounds over the last two seasons.

Wells will be honored with the TSWA Women's Basketball Player of the Year award at the 2022 TSWA Hall of Fame ceremony on Thursday, July 14 in Lebanon, Tennessee.

With its 73-70 double-overtime upset of Oregon, Belmont became only the second program in Division I women's basketball history to win NCAA Tournament games in consecutive seasons as a No. 12 seed or lower (Middle Tennessee in 2004 and 2005).

The Bruins are one of just 12 programs in the nation and one of only three non-power conference teams (Florida Gulf Coast and South Dakota State) to win 20 or more games for seven-straight seasons. Belmont, who owns the 17th-most wins all-time in Division I women's basketball (1,034), has either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls for seven consecutive seasons. The Bruins have earned a national postseason bid nine of the last 10 years and appeared in the last six NCAA Tournaments.

Follow Belmont women's basketball on social media - @BelmontWBB on Twitter, @belmontwbb on Instagram and Belmont Women's Basketball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.

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