New York, N.Y. - The 10 Skyline Conference women's basketball head coaches have cast their ballots on the 2018-19 all-conference team and Mount Saint Mary College senior center Kayla Cleare has been selected as Player of the Year.
SUNY Old Westbury senior forward Monique Joseph was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season, while U.S. Merchant Marine Academy freshman forward Lauren Hunter earned Rookie of the Year kudos. USMMA 11th-year head coach Matt Dempsey was chosen as Coach of the Year in a vote by his peers.
Cleare led the Knights to an 18-0 record in regular-season conference play and a 22-5 record through the Skyline Conference Championship overall by averaging 12.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Joseph led the Skyline and ranks No. 2 in NCAA Division III, with an average of 4.19 steals per outing. She finished her career with the Panthers with 349 steals and 1,201 points.
Hunter ranks in the top-6 nationally with 19 double-doubles through the Mariners' 25 games played entering the conference championship. She'll enter NCAA Division III Championship play with averages of 17.1 points (No. 5 in Skyline) and 12.3 rebounds (No. 3 in Skyline) per contest.
Dempsey, a 1984 graduate of Castleton State, is in his 11th season guiding the Mariners. He coached his USMMA side to its first-ever Skyline title last weekend, and the program's first bid into the NCAA Championship.
Cleare and Hunter are joined on the all-conference first team by: Amber Jones of Purchase College, SUNY; Kelly O'Donnell and Victoria Porcasi of St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn; and Kaleigh D'Arcy of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
Joseph is a second-team selection, along with: Katie Smith of Mount Saint Mary; Charlotte Renker and Davida Warren of Old Westbury; and Nicole Bick of Yeshiva University.
2018-19 Skyline Conference Women's Basketball All-Conference Team
First Team
Kayla Cleare, Mount Saint Mary (Sr., C; W. Hempstead, N.Y.)
Kaleigh D'Arcy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Jr., G; White Plains, N.Y.)
Lauren Hunter, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Fr., F; Tinley Park, Ill.)
Amber Jones, Purchase (Sr., G; Bronx, N.Y.)
Kelly O'Donnell, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn (So., G; Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Victoria Porcasi, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn (Sr., G; Franklin Sq., N.Y.)
Second Team
Nicole Bick, Yeshiva (Sr., G; Edison, N.J.)
Monique Joseph, Old Westbury (Jr., F; Elmont, N.Y.)
Charlotte Renker, Old Westbury (Sr., C; Mineola, N.Y.)
Katie Smith, Mount Saint Mary (So., G; Goshen, N.Y.)
Davida Warren, Old Westbury (Jr., C; Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Player of the Year: Kayla Cleare, Mount Saint Mary
Defensive Player of the Year: Monique Joseph, Old Westbury
Rookie of the Year: Lauren Hunter, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Coach of the Year: Matt Dempsey, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Castleton St. '84; 11th season)
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