HADLEY, Mass. – Bates junior Meghan Graff has been selected as the NESCAC Player of the Year by the conference coaches. Graff is the sixth Bobcat to garner the honor and the first since Val Beckwith in 2009.
Graff led the fifth-seeded Bobcats to their first NESCAC title with a 51-42 win over No. 3 Amherst in the NESCAC Championship game. Graff ranks third in the conference in scoring (16.3 ppg) and assists (4.4 apg). She has scored 20 or more points seven times this season, including a 30-point effort against Bowdoin and back-to-back 20-points games in the NESCAC Semifinal and Championship games. Bates will face Roger Williams in a game hosted by NYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Trinity senior Bailey Hyland is the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. She is the second consecutive Bantam to earn the honor, joining Peace Kabari in 2020. Hyland started all 22 games for the Bantams chipping in 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and collecting 25 steals. She helped Trinity earn the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament and host the semifinals and final for the first time in program history.
Mustafaj is the NESCAC Rookie of the Year as voted by the coaches and the third Panther to win the award. As a first-year, Mustafaj averaged 20.7 points per game to lead the NESCAC while shooting 47.6 percent from the floor. She reached double-figures in 22 of the 23 games she played and scored 20 or more points 15 times. Mustafaj also led the conference in steals with 53 total for the year (2.3 pg).
Trinity head coach Emily Garner was voted as the NESCAC Coach of the Year by her peers and is the first Bantam head coach to earn the honor in the history of the award. Garner led Trinity to an 8-2 mark in the NESCAC (17-6 overall) and the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament for the first time in program history.
2022 NESCAC Women's Basketball Awards
Player of the Year: Meghan Graff, Bates
Defensive Player of the Year: Bailey Hyland, Trinity
Rookie of the Year: Alexa Mustafaj, Middlebury
Coach of the Year: Emily Garner, Trinity
| All-NESCAC First Team |
| Pos |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
Past Honors |
| C/F |
Samantha Gallo |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Northford, Conn. |
|
| G |
Meghan Graff |
Bates |
Jr. |
South Portland, Maine |
2020 Second Team |
| F |
Maggie Russell |
Tufts |
So. |
Morristown, N.J. |
|
| G |
Caleigh Ryan |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
New York, N.Y. |
2019 Rookie of the Year |
| F |
Dani Valdez |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| All-NESCAC Second Team |
| Pos |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
Past Honors |
| G |
Maggie Meehan |
Williams |
Sr. |
Southington, Conn. |
2020 Second Team |
| G |
Alexa Mustafaj |
Middlebury |
Fy. |
Yonkers, N.Y. |
|
| G |
Mia Roy |
Bates |
Sr. |
Bedford, N.H. |
|
| G |
Molly Ryan |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Westfield, N.J. |
2020 Second Team |
| G |
Kelcie Zarle |
Hamilton |
Sr. |
Wellesley Hills, Mass. |
2020 Second Team |
