Liberty League announces 2016-17 Women's Basketball Awards
The Liberty League has announced its 2016-17 All-League awards and teams for women's basketball as voted by league coaches.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kelly Donnelly, Jr., Guard, Skidmore College
Skidmore College junior Kelly Donnelly was selected as the Liberty League Player of the Year. Donnelly and the Thoroughbreds claimed their second league regular season title in program history. She was tops in the team and league in scoring as she averaged a double-double with 20.9 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game. A five-time Liberty League Performer of the Week selection, 249 of her 286 total rebounds were defensive (87.0%). Nationally, she is ranked sixth in defensive rebounds per game (10.0), 20th in points per game and tied for 12th in double-doubles (17).
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Stephanie Grobe, Sr., Guard, Clarkson University
For the second consecutive season, Clarkson University senior Stephanie Grobe earned Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year honors. She helped the Golden Knights, who earned the fourth seed in the league tournament, advance to the semifinals, finishing the year with a 16-11 overall mark (10-6 Liberty League). Grobe finished this season ranked among the league’s top-12 in blocked shots (12th, 0.7) and steals per game (9th, 1.6). For Clarkson, she was typically assigned to cover the most difficult player to guard on the opposing side regardless of position. Offensively, she chipped in 10.4 points per game, good for second on the team, along with 4.8 rebounds per game.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Sophie Nick, Forward, Vassar College *
Vassar College forward Sophie Nick was selected as the Liberty League Rookie of the Year after making an immediate impact in her first year in a Brewer uniform. Nick made all 25 starts for Vassar and she paced the team in rebounding (212, 8.5 per game) as well as blocking (14). Among league leaders, she was ranked fourth in rebounds per game and fourteenth in blocks per game (0.6). A seven-time Rookie of the Week recipient, she averaged 12.1 points per game, including a season-high 22 against William Smith in January.
CO-COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Skidmore College – Darren Bennett, Head Coach; Assistant Coach Elyse Schlump
CO-COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: William Smith College – Lindsay Sharman, Head Coach; Assistant Coaches Seraphine Hamilton and Jennifer Goodell Cooper
Skidmore’s coaching staff and William Smith’s coaching staff were both selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year as voted by the league’s head coaches.
Skidmore head coach Darren Bennett and assistant coach Elyse Schlump directed the Thoroughbreds to their second regular season title in program history en route to a 17-9 overall record and a 13-3 mark in conference play. The 13 league wins are a program-best for the Thoroughbreds. As a team, the Skidmore was tops in the league in field goal defense (0.339), defensive rebounds per game (29.7) and scoring defense (55.5 PPG).
William Smith head coach Lindsay Sharman along with assistant coaches Seraphine Hamilton and Jennifer Goodell Cooper guided the Herons to the second seed in the league tournament with a 17-9 overall record (11-5 Liberty League). William Smith returned to the postseason for the first time in three years with an improvement of seven wins from a year ago. From January 2
nd through 21
st, the Herons had an eight-game win streak which was the program’s longest win streak since 2013-14. They were ranked third in the league in scoring offense with 66.5 points per game.
ALL LEAGUE – FIRST TEAM
Kelly Donnelly, Jr., G, Skidmore *
Mia Morrison, So., F, William Smith
Cori Okada, So., G, RIT
Melanie Patterson, Sr., G, William Smith
Ariella Rosenthal, Jr., F, Vassar *
Devin Sorell, Jr., G, Clarkson
ALL LEAGUE – SECOND TEAM
Jessica Glaz, Jr., G, RIT
Sam Krumbhaar, So., G, RPI
Tara Lynch, So., F, RIT
Erin Lyons, Sr., F, Union
Sophie Nick, Fr., F, Vassar
ALL LEAGUE – HONORABLE MENTION:
Stephanie Grobe, Sr., G, Clarkson
Veronica Moceri, So., G, Skidmore
Migle Vilunaite, Sr., F, Skidmore
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Emma Gallagher, G, William Smith
Sophie Nick, F, Vassar *
Isa Peczuh, G, Vassar *
Annabella Pugliese, F, St. Lawrence
Molly Stewart, G, Clarkson *
*denotes unanimous selection