NORFOLK, Va. – North Carolina Central University junior guard Kimeira Burks was named Second Team All-MEAC and freshman guard Jerni Kiaku racked up three awards, including MEAC Rookie of the Year, Third Team All-MEAC and MEAC All-Rookie Team as announced by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) on Tuesday night heading into the 2023 MEAC Basketball Tournament at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
 
Burks was voted to the All-MEAC Second Team after leading the Eagles with 11.9 points and 1.5 steals per game. Burks finished the regular season ranked eighth in the league in scoring and 11th in the conference in steals per game.
 
In her first season with NCCU after transferring in from Daytona State College, Burks was the top perimeter shooter in the conference. Burks enters postseason play leading the MEAC with 2.7 made three-pointers per game and a .366 three-point field goal percentage.
 
Burks, who hails from Chicago, Illinois, has also averaged 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game this campaign. Burks has scored 20-plus points seven times and has been NCCU's leading scorer a team-best 11 times.
 
Burks was named MEAC Player of the Week three times this season.
 
Kiaku was the top scoring freshman in the league this season. She averaged one less point per game than Burks, finishing the regular season ranked 12th in the MEAC with 10.9 points per game.
 
Out of qualifying players, Kiaku ranked fourth in the conference with a .447 field goal shooting percentage.
 
Kiaku, who is from Garner, North Carolina, also averaged 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game in her first collegiate season.
 
As a six-time MEAC Rookie of the Week honoree this season, Kiaku matched Burks with 15 double-digit scoring performances. She was NCCU's leading scorer seven times and top playmaker in eight contests.
 
Burks and Kiaku become the eighth and ninth All-MEAC honorees coached by sixth-year head Trisha Stafford-Odom at NCCU (NCCU did not have any postseason award winners any of the prior three years). Kiaku is NCCU's third consecutive major award winner in the past three seasons for the maroon and gray (Anissa Rivera MEAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, Diamond Thomas MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2022, Jerni Kiaku MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2023).
 
NC Central earned the fourth seed in the 2023 MEAC Tournament and will play fifth-seeded Coppin State University in the quarterfinals on Thursday at noon.
 
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.