HADLEY, Mass. – Tufts senior Erica DeCandido was selected as the NESCAC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. She is the fourth player in Tufts history to garner the honor, joining Khalilah Ummah (2008), Haley Kanner (2015), and Michela North (2016). She led the Jumbos to the championship game with 21 points and 12 rebounds in a semifinal victory over No. 4 Williams and added 27 points and 10 rebounds in the final versus No. 3 Bowdoin. DeCandido, who has over 1,300-career points, ranks fourth among the NESCAC scoring leaders (16.3 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.3 rpg). The Jumbos earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament and making their 12th NCAA appearance. Tufts will travel to Western New England University to face SUNY Polytechnic in the first round on March 6.
A pair of Bantams picked up individual awards as first-year Bria Fuller (Springdale, Md.) was named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year and senior Peace Kabari was voted the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Both players are the first Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honorees in the Trinity program. Fuller started all 25 games in her first season with the Bantams and ranked second on the team in scoring (12.4 ppg). Kabari led the conference in steals (2.9 stlpg), ranked fifth among the NESCAC rebounding leaders (7.2 rpg), and led the Bantams in scoring (13.0 ppg). Kabari earned a spot on the All-NESCAC Second Team for the second straight year.
Tufts head coach Jill Pace was selected as the NESCAC Coach of the Year by her peers in her first year at the helm of the Jumbos. Pace led Tufts to its first undefeated regular season (24-0) in program history and a 10-0 record in the NESCAC. Tufts advanced to the championship game for the second year in a row.
2020 Women's Basketball All-NESCAC Teams
Player of the Year: Erica DeCandido, Tufts
Rookie of the Year: Bria Fuller, Trinity
Defensive Player of the Year: Peace Kabari, Trinity
Coach of the Year: Jill Pace, Tufts
All-NESCAC First Team
| Name |
Institution |
Yr |
Pos |
Hometown |
Past Awards |
| Erica DeCandido |
Tufts |
Sr. |
G/F |
North Wales, Pa. |
2019 1st Team |
| Madeline Eck |
Amherst |
Sr. |
G |
Rye, N.Y. |
2019 1st Team, 2018 1st Team, 2017 ROY |
| Hannah Fox |
Amherst |
Sr. |
G |
Plymouth Meeting, Pa. |
2019 2nd Team, 2018 1st Team |
| Maddie Hasson |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
F |
South Portland, Maine |
2019 1st Team |
| Samantha Roy |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
G |
Stafford Springs, Conn. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All-NESCAC Second Team
| Name |
Institution |
Yr |
Pos |
Hometown |
Past Awards |
| Meghan Graff |
Bates |
So. |
G |
South Portland, Maine |
|
| Peace Kabari |
Trinity |
Sr. |
G |
Manchester, N.H. |
2019 2nd Team |
| Maggie Meehan |
Williams |
Jr. |
G |
Southington, Conn. |
|
| Molly Ryan |
Tufts |
So. |
G |
Westfield, N.J. |
|
| Kelcie Zarle |
Hamilton |
So. |
G |
Wellesley, Mass. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ROY=Rookie of the Year
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