2008 NESCAC Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams Announced
Tufts' Tandem of Ummah, Hart Claim Top Honors
HADLEY, Mass. - Tufts senior forward Khalilah Ummah (Litchfield, Maine) has been named the 2008 NESCAC Player of the Year, while first year teammate Colleen Hart (Needham, Mass.) earned NESCAC Rookie of the Year, as determined by the conference coaches. The tandem has helped the Jumbos to their best season in team history with a school-record 23 victories so far this year, a second-straight appearance in the NESCAC Women’s Basketball finals, and the program’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
A first time All-NESCAC First Team selection, Ummah leads her team in scoring and rebounding this season, averaging a career-best 12.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Ummah is the only player in the conference to average a double-double in points and rebounds, as she is first among all NESCAC players in rebounds and 10th in points while her shooting percentage of 52.2 is fifth. Ummah scored a career-high 25 points during the final game of the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Basketball Championship on March 2. She was also recognized with the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year award, recording a league-leading 2.23 blocks per game that has helped the Jumbos’ defense rank first in both points allowed at 52.4 per game and blocks at 4.58.
Hart has started alongside Ummah in every game so far this year for Tufts and is second among both her teammates and first year players in the NESCAC in scoring with an average of 11.5 points per game. A sharpshooter from long range, Hart, who was also named to the All-NESCAC Second Team, is third in the league in three-point field goals made with 50, hitting 41.0 percent of her shots (5th NESCAC). She has also performed well at the free throw line for the Jumbos, as her 89.8 percent showing (53-for-59) currently ranks first in the conference.
Representing the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Basketball Champion Lord Jeffs on the All-Conference First Team were Amherst senior teammates Shaina Pollack (Great Neck, N.Y.) and Stefanie Reiff (Hinsdale, Ill.). The two have been a big part of what has become the Jeffs’ best year in program history on the hardwood. Amherst opened the 2007-08 campaign with a team-high 17-game winning streak en route to a school-record 25 victories along with its first NESCAC crown and NCAA Tournament berth. Leading her team in scoring for the third-straight season, Reiff, a Second Team member a year ago, averages 12.6 points per game while shooting a career-high 50.6 percent from the floor (6th NESCAC). Pollack is also having a stellar senior season with the Jeffs, ranking behind only Reiff on the Amherst stat sheet with a personal-best 11.2 points per game. Pollack poured in a career-high 22 points during the final of the NESCAC Women’s Basketball Championship. She is also third in the conference in assists with 4.89 per game.
After missing the 2006-07 season due to injury, Bates senior forward Meg Coffin (Westford, Mass.) returned this winter for her final year with the Bobcats and once again ranked among the conference leaders in multiple statistical categories. The 2006 NESCAC Player of the Year, Coffin earned All-NESCAC recognition for the third time in her career, as she was a Second Team member in 2005 and a First Team honoree in 2006. Coffin averaged a team-high 15.3 points (5th NESCAC), 9.4 rebounds (4th) and 1.58 blocks (3rd) per game while shooting at a 56.4 percent clip (2nd) through 19 outings. Coffin closed the book on her career fourth all-time at Bates in scoring and rebounding with 1,252 points and 789 boards.
Wesleyan guard Ali Fourney (East Northport, N.Y.) was one of two juniors on the 2008 NESCAC All-Conference First Team. Fourney, the 2006 Rookie of the Year and a Second Team selection a year ago, led the conference in both scoring and steals this season with 16.4 points and 2.92 steals per game. Fourney paced the Cardinals’ offense for the second consecutive year and heads into her senior season with 1,066 career points.
Rounding out the All-Conference First Team is Williams junior guard Mika Peterman (Los Altos, Calif.). Peterman was fourth among conference players in scoring, pacing the Ephs with 15.3 points per game. Peterman scored a career-high 24 against Bates on Feb. 8.
Coach of the Year honors were shared by G.P. Gromacki of Amherst and Carla Berube of Tufts. In his first season at the helm for the Jeffs, Gromacki guided his squad to its first NESCAC Women’s Basketball title this year along with a program-best 25 victories and Amherst’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Berube’s Jumbos have also enjoyed a record-setting season, winning a school-record 23 games and receiving an invitation to participate in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the team’s 36-year history. Berube was named Coach of the Year for the first time in 2007.
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2007-08 NESCAC Women's Basketball All-Conference
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First Team |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
G
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Ali Fourney
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Wesleyan
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Jr.
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East Northport, N.Y.
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G
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Mika Peterman
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Williams
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Jr.
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Los Altos, Calif.
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G
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Shaina Pollack
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Amherst
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Sr.
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Great Neck, N.Y.
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F
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Meg Coffin
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Bates
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Sr.
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Westford, Mass.
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F
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Stefanie Reiff
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Amherst
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Sr.
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Hinsdale, Ill.
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F
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Khalilah Ummah
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Tufts
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Sr.
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Litchfield, Maine
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Second Team |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
G
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Val Beckwith
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Bates
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Jr.
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Woburn, Mass.
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G
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Colleen Hart
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Tufts
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Fy. |
Needham, Mass.
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F
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Jill Anelauskas
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Bowdoin
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Jr.
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Medfield, Mass.
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F
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Katie McCabe
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Colby |
Sr.
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Watertown, Conn.
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F
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Lucy Sprung
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Wesleyan |
Sr.
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Wilmington, Vt.
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Player of the Year |
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F
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Khalilah Ummah
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Tufts
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Sr.
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Litchfield, Maine
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Defensive Player of the Year |
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F
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Khalilah Ummah
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Tufts
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Sr.
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Litchfield, Maine
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Rookie of the Year |
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G
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Colleen Hart
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Tufts
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Fy.
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Needham, Mass.
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Co-Coaches of the Year |
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G.P. Gromacki |
Amherst
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Carla Berube
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Tufts
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