Katie Lytle '14, one of the most accomplished student-athletes in the history of the Swarthmore women's basketball program, earned a spot on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 2014 Division III All-America First Team, the organization announced late last week.

A native of Harrisburg, Pa. and a mathematics major, Lytle is the first Swarthmore student-athlete to be named to an All-America First Team in any sport since Morgan Langley '11 of the men's soccer team earned that distinction from D3Soccer.com in 2010. Lytle is also only the second student-athlete in program history to receive first-team recognition from the WBCA, joining Garnet Hall of Fame member Heather Kile '02, who did so after the 2001-02 season. Only five other players in Centennial Conference history have made the WBCA First Team, and none since Caitlin Moser of Gettysburg earned the distinction in 2010.

This award adds to an already impressive list of postseason accolades for Lytle, who was named to her second straight D3Hoops.com All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team earlier this month and became only the third player in conference history to win multiple Centennial Conference Player of the Year Honors with her second consecutive selection. The forward led the conference in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounding (12.3 rpg), field goal percentage (51.4), was second in steals (55 total), and fifth in free throw percentage (81.6). Not only impressive on the court, Lytle also received a place on the Capital One Academic All-America Women's Basketball Second Team in February.  

As a three-year starter, Lytle progressed steadily over her career, improving her field goal percentage, rebounding, and points per game averages over every season. In 2012-13, Lytle was one of the key performers for a Garnet squad that compiled a 19-6 record and reached the conference playoffs for the first time since 2004-05, but narrowly lost in the finals and missed out on a berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. In the program record books, she finishes sixth all-time in scoring (1,382 points), third in rebounding (1,050), fourth in steals (228), fourth in blocks (85), and seventh in field goals made (495).