ATLANTA – Being recognized on the top stage for her performance during the 2021-22 season, Montana State University Billings women's basketball senior Taryn Shelley was named an honorable mention All-American announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association on Wednesday.
 
Shelley, who intends to return to the Yellowjackets next season, became the 12th player in program history to earn All-American accolades. "Taryn had an outstanding season and is very worthy of WBCA All-American honors," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "It is quite an honor when you consider there are nearly 300 teams in NCAA Division II women's basketball. Taryn has improved each year at MSUB and this season was her best to date. She was one of the premier players in the GNAC and our region. Her offensive talents and soft shooting touch continue to amaze me and her ability to rebound the basketball has been a key factor in our team's success. Taryn's consistency and leadership are very important to our program and I am excited about her upcoming 2022-23 season."
 
A unanimous first-team all-league selection in her fourth year with the Yellowjackets, Shelley paced the team with 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game to rank seventh and second in the conference, respectively. Shelley had nine double-doubles on the season, and became the 25th player in program history to reach 1,000-career points when she achieved the feat on Dec. 17 in the tilt against West Texas A&M.
 
Shelley scored a career-high 30 points on Feb. 24 against Central Washington, making a dozen field goals and adding 14 rebounds to complete a double-double. Shelley scored 20 or more points in 10 different games throughout the course of the season, and led the team with a field-goal percentage of 50.0.
 
Shelley led the team with 35 blocked shots, with her average of 1.2 blocks per game ranking fifth in the conference. Shelley also shot a solid 35.1 percent from 3-point range, and made 80.9 percent of her free throws while averaging 25.8 minutes per game.
 
At the end of the season, Shelley was No. 14 in school history with 1,284 career points. She also ranked third in blocked shots with 132, sixth in rebounds with 771, eighth in field goals made with 538 and field-goal percentage at 49.6, and 10th in 3-point field-goal percentage at 35.0.
 
Shelley has earned all-conference honors three times, earning honorable mention all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. She is the first Yellowjacket to earn All-American honors since Alisha Breen was a first-team selection during her senior year in 2017-18.
 
Julianne Sutton of the University of North Georgia was named the 2022 WBCA Division II Player of the Year, and Kim Stephens of Glenville State University was named the Division II Coach of the Year.