Player of the Week
Cecilia Lapertosa, Daemen
Junior | F | Whitesboro NY
Lapertosa led the Wildcats both offensively and defensively in their 2-0 week, totaling 28 points (14.0 points per game) and 27 rebounds (13.5 rebounds per game) while adding eight assists, four blocks and three steals. Shooting 12-of-28 from the field, the Daemen junior forward posted her third and fourth double-doubles of the season in wins over Staten Island and District of Columbia. Lapertosa tied Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present) record for single-game rebounds (17, 11 defensive) while adding 10 points, three assists, three steals, and three blocks in the win over Staten Island on Friday and followed up by posting a season-high 18 points with 10 rebounds (seven defensive), five assists, and a block in the 'Cats 79-64 victory over District of Columbia on Sunday.
Defensive Player of the Week
Cecilia Lapertosa, Daemen
Junior | F | Whitesboro NY
Lapertosa led the Wildcats both offensively and defensively in their 2-0 week, totaling 28 points (14.0 points per game) and 27 rebounds (13.5 rebounds per game) while adding eight assists, four blocks and three steals. Shooting 12-of-28 from the field, the Daemen junior forward posted her third and fourth double-doubles of the season in wins over Staten Island and District of Columbia. Lapertosa tied Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015-present) record for single-game rebounds (17, 11 defensive) while adding 10 points, three assists, three steals, and three blocks in the win over Staten Island on Friday and followed up by posting a season-high 18 points with 10 rebounds (seven defensive), five assists, and a block in the 'Cats 79-64 victory over District of Columbia on Sunday.
Rookie of the Week
Grace Lesko, Mercy
Sophomore | F | Northampton, PA
Lesko scored a career-high 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting with six rebounds and four steals in the 67-45 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Friday.
ECC Weekly Honor Roll
Jalea Abrams, Queens
Sophomore | G | Elmira, NY
In their lone game of the week as the Knights opened ECC play, Abrams filled up the stat sheet with a season-best 28 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block as Queens defeated Molloy, 67-60, on Saturday afternoon. The Queens sophomore guard recorded her third straight game with 20+ points, five-made three-pointers, and a career-best nine made free throws, including 16 points in the fourth quarter on 4-of-6 shooting from the field to lead the offense as Queens opened ECC play on a winning note for the first time since 2019-20 season.
Nkiru Awaka, Queens
Sophomore | F | Hyde Park, NY
In their lone game of the week as the Knights opened ECC play, Awaka recorded her second straight double-double with a season-best 15 points, 18 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks as Queens defeated Molloy, 67-60, Saturday afternoon. The Knights' sophomore forward recorded her ninth career double-double and fell one rebound shy of tying her career-best in the victory.
Grace Dow, Roberts Wesleyan
Senior | F | Syracuse, NY
Dow stepped up with a team-leading 17 points after scoring leaders Georgia Haverlock and Marianna Freeman both went down to injury for the road game against STAC. She finished the week with 30 points and 18 rebounds; her 17 points against the Spartans were a season high.
Syrita Faraj, St. Thomas Aquinas
Senior | G/F | Troy, NY
Faraj posted 22 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes in a 67-48 home victory over Roberts Wesleyan. The senior guard/forward shot 67.0 percent (8-of-12) from the field and a perfect 100.0 percent from the charity stripe (6-of-6).
Kristian Harris, District of Columbia
Sophomore | G | Capitol Heights, MD
In conference play, Harris helped lead the Firebirds to a 1-1 week. The UDC sophomore guard averaged 12.5 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and 6.5 assists per game over the two games. In the win over D'Youvlle, Harris added a career-high 19 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
Anna Jankovic, D'Youville
Senior | G/F | Averill Park, NY
Jankovic averaged 12.5 points per game, 12.0 rebounds per game, 3.0 assists per game, and 2.5 steals per game in two games for D'Youville this week. In Friday's game against District of Columbia, she scored a team-high 15 points, including her 1,000th career point, grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, and recorded a career-high five steals. On Sunday, she continued to lead the way for the Saints with a team-high 10 points with a season-high 15 rebounds and four assists.
Dana Phelan, Staten Island
Junior | G | Tappan, NY
Phelan helped lead the Dolphins to a 1-1 week with averages of 20.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. On Friday against Daemen, the CSI junior guard scored 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. On Sunday in a CSI win over D'Youville, the junior scored 17 points and shot 5-12 from beyond the arc. Phelan finished the week shooting 36 percent (8-of-22) from long range and 41 percent (13-of-32) from the field.
Claire Pikett, Daemen
Junior | F | Holland, NY
Pikett led all players in Daemen's 79-64 win over District of Columbia on Sunday, totaling 20 points after going 6-of-14 from the field and knocking down a career-high five triples (5-of-9) while narrowly missing a double-double with nine rebounds. She added two steals and one assist to her stat line.
Jaclyn Stanavich, Mercy
Senior | G | Amsterdam, NY
Stanavich had a game-high-tying 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting with four rebounds, four steals and two assists in the win over Roberts Wesleyan on Friday.
ECC Women's Basketball Weekly Award Winners
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nov. 11 - Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island
Nov. 18 - Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island (2x) and Georgia Haverlock, Roberts Wesleyan
Nov. 25 - Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island (3x)
Dec. 2 - Samantha Muller, Molloy
Dec. 9 - Cecilia Lapertosa, Daemen
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nov. 11 - Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island
Nov. 18 - Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island (2x)
Nov. 25 - Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island (3x)
Dec. 2 - Sajol Thornhill, Queens
Dec. 9 - Cecilia Lapertosa, Daemen
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Nov. 11 - Allie Hall, D'Youville
Nov. 18 - Samantha Ruhlman, D'Youville
Nov. 25 - Aliviya Vallone Russell, D'Youville
Dec. 2 - Ashley Chio, Queens
Dec. 9 - Grace Lesko, Mercy
Previously in the Polls
WBCA TOP 25 COACHES POLL
Preseason: Daemen (RV)
Week 1 (11/19): --
Week 2 (11/26): --
Week 3 (12/3): --
D2CSC TOP 25 MEDIA POLL
Preseason (11/5): Daemen (RV)
Week 1 (11/12): --
Week 2 (11/19): --
Week 3 (11/26): --
Week 4 (12/3): --
D2CSC TOP 10 EAST REGION MEDIA POLL
Preseason (11/4): Daemen (4), Mercy (5)
Week 2 (11/11): Mercy (5), Daemen (9), Molloy (RV)
Week 3 (11/18): Mercy (7), Molloy (RV)
Week 3 (11/25): Daemen (10), Mercy (RV), Molloy (RV)
Week 4 (12/2): Daemen (10), Molloy (RV), Mercy (RV)
NCAA EAST REGION POLL
ECC PRESEASON POLL
1. Mercy - 76 points (5 first-place votes)
2. Daemen - 71 points (3 first-place votes)
3. District of Columbia - 60 points (1 first-place vote)
4. St. Thomas Aquinas - 52 points
5. Staten Island - 43 points
6. Molloy - 30 points
7. Queens - 29 points
8. D'Youville - 27 points
9. Roberts Wesleyan - 17 points