February 22, 2012
Contact: Jay Williams, 212-804-7478
New York, N.Y. – Jen Mocanu, the league's top scorer and leader of regular season champion Mount Saint Mary, earned Player of the Year honors in the Skyline Conference to headline the All-Conference team, selected by the league's eight head coaches.
First team selections include Amanda Horvers of Mount Saint Mary, Deslyn Applewhaite of Old Westbury, Margaux Pickell of NYU-Poly, Dominique Cunningham of Farmingdale State, and Amanda Bender of St. Joseph's-L.I. The second team consists of Alyssa Guido of Purchase, Tabitha Larsen of NYU-Poly, Kara McNish of Mount Saint Vincent, Nicole Redding of St. Joseph's-L.I., and DeAndra Scott of Old Westbury. Old Westbury's Clarissa Gallagher claims the Rookie of the Year award, while J. Randall Ognibene of Mount Saint Mary earns Coach of the Year accolades. The Team Sportsmanship Award goes to NYU-Poly.
Mocanu, a 5-8 senior guard from Belford, NJ, has led her team to another Skyline regular season title at 13-1 and a sterling 22-3 mark overall. She leads the league in scoring (17.4), and usually saves her best efforts for the biggest stages. She is also second in the Skyline in both field goal pct. (42.4) and free throw pct. (79.6), and is fourth in steals (2.9). The superb all-around player also contributes 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
Horvers, Mocanu's backcourt mate, a 5-9 senior guard, is 7th in the league in scoring (12.4) and 2nd in treys per game (2.3), while also grabbing 4.3 rpg. Applewhaite, a 5-7 sophomore guard, leads the Panthers with 13.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg, while leading the league in FG pct. (42.6). Pickell, a 6-0 senior forward, leads the league in both rebounding (13.0), where she ranks 8th in the nation, and blocks (2.7- 23rd nationally), and also poured in 15.5 ppg. Cunningham, a 5-9 senior forward, was a consistent force for a balanced team going 12-2 in league play, averaging 7.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, and 2.0 spg. Bender, a 5-11 junior forward, is among the Skyline leaders in scoring (2nd -16.6), rebounding (4th – 8.8), blocks (3rd- 1.8), and FG pct. (6th – 38.9).
The second team is a very talented group as well. Guido, a senior guard, has closed out her career in style, as she is 4th in the league in scoring (13.8) as well as contributing 6.4 rpg and 1.7 spg. Larsen, a sophomore guard, was the floor leader for NYU-Poly, netting 9.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 4.2 apg. McNish, a senior forward, an exceptional rebounder with 12.8 rpg, 10th in Division III, also led her team in scoring (8.7). Redding, a senior guard, is among the league leaders in scoring (8th – 11.6), rebounding (3rd – 9.0), and steals (3rd - 3.0). Scott, a sophomore forward, helped the Panthers to a 3rd place finish with 10.9 ppg and 8.1 rpg, while shooting 46.7 percent.
Gallagher, a 5-6 freshman swing player, has been a key contributor for Old Westbury, averaging 9.7 ppg, making a team-high 45 treys, and pulling down 3.5 boards. Ognibene wins the Skyline Coach of the Year Award for an unprecedented ninth time, as he is looking to get his Knights to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th consecutive season. With this season's 13-1 league mark, Ognibene now has amassed a truly amazing 163-6 mark in Skyline play. He is the ninth winningest coach among active Division III coaches with 585 victories.
2011-12 SKYLINE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Deslyn Applewhaite - Old Westbury - So. - G - Brooklyn, NY
Amanda Bender - St. Joseph's-L.I. - Jr. - F - East Northport, NY
Dominique Cunningham - Farmingdale State - Sr. - F - Amityville, NY
Amanda Horvers - Mount Saint Mary - Sr. - G - Kingston, NY
Margaux Pickell - NYU-Poly - Sr. - F - Howell, NJ
SECOND TEAM
Alyssa Guido - Purchase - Sr. - G/F - Cliffside Park, NJ
Tabitha Larsen - NYU-Poly - So. - G - Ramsey, NJ
Kara McNish - Mount Saint Vincent - Sr. - F - Hawthorne, NJ
Nicole Redding - St. Joseph's-L.I. - Sr. - G - Smithtown, NY
DeAndra Scott - Old Westbury - So. - F - St. Albans, NY
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jen Mocanu - Mount Saint Mary - Sr. - G - Belford, NJ
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Clarissa Gallagher - Old Westbury - Fr. - G/F - Brooklyn, NY
COACH OF THE YEAR
J. Randall Ognibene - Mount Saint Mary
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
NYU-Poly
450 Seventh Ave., Suite 506, New York, NY 10123
www.skylineconference.org
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