Player of the Week
Nkiru Awaka, Queens
Sophomore | F | Hyde Park, NY
Awaka averaged 21.0 points on 75.0 percent shooting for the field, 15.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 steals per game to go with two double-doubles in a 1-1 ECC week. The Queens sophomore began the week with her fifth double-double of the year on 15 points (7-of-10 FG), and 14 rebounds (seven defensive) to go with two steals, one block, and one assist against Mercy on Wednesday evening. Awaka would conclude her week with her sixth double-double of the year on a season-best 27 points (11-of-14 FG) on a scorching 78.6 shooting percentage to go with 17 rebounds (12 offensive), three assists, and two steals in QC’s 64-61 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday afternoon. With that performance, Awaka led the Knights to their first victory inside Aquinas Hall since January 7, 2017. Over the two games, Awaka led all ECC players in rebounds, field goal percentage, offensive rebounding, and double-doubles and ranked second in points per game.
Defensive Player of the Week
Nkiru Awaka, Queens
Sophomore | F | Hyde Park, NY
Awaka averaged 21.0 points on 75.0 percent shooting for the field, 15.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 steals per game to go with two double-doubles in a 1-1 ECC week. The Queens sophomore began the week with her fifth double-double of the year on 15 points (7-of-10 FG), and 14 rebounds (seven defensive) to go with two steals, one block, and one assist against Mercy on Wednesday evening. Awaka would conclude her week with her sixth double-double of the year on a season-best 27 points (11-of-14 FG) on a scorching 78.6 shooting percentage to go with 17 rebounds (12 offensive), three assists, and two steals in QC’s 64-61 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday afternoon. With that performance, Awaka led the Knights to their first victory inside Aquinas Hall since January 7, 2017. Over the two games, Awaka led all ECC players in rebounds, field goal percentage, offensive rebounding, and double-doubles and ranked second in points per game.
Rookie of the Week
Grace Lesko, Mercy
Sophomore | F | Northampton, PA
Lesko averaged 11.5 points per game and a team-high 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 2.5 steals per game to go with 2.5 assists per game as Mercy went 1-1 on the week. The sophomore opened the week with a double-double by way of 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists and three steals in the win over Queens on Wednesday. The forward ended the week with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, three blocks and two steals at Molloy on Saturday.
ECC Weekly Honor Roll
Angelina Barrera, Mercy
Junior | F | Gloucester City, NJ
Barrera averaged a team-high 19.0 points per game on 57.1 percent shooting with 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game as Mercy went 1-1 on the week. The junior opened the week with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and 8-of-10 shooting from the foul line with six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win over Queens on Wednesday. The forward ended the week with a game-high-tying 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor and 6-of-6 shooting from the foul line with nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal at Molloy on Saturday.
Syrita Faraj, St. Thomas Aquinas
Senior | G/F | Troy, NY
Faraj averaged 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals over two contests last week for STAC. The senior guard/forward tallied 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds (14 defensive), dished out an assist, swiped four steals and blocked two shots in 42 minutes in a thrilling 68-67 overtime home victory against Molloy before recording 14 points, four rebounds and four steals in 39 minutes in a 64-61 home loss against Queens. Faraj shot 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from the field and 92.0 percent from the charity stripe (22-of-24).
Megan Fedor, D’Youville
Redshirt Sophomore | F | Elmira, NY
Fedor scored a career-high 14 points to lead the Saints' offense in Saturday's contest against Daemen. She also recorded four rebounds and one block.
Tania Hill, District of Columbia
Senior | G/F | Brandywine, MD
In the Firebirds’ 76-51 victory over Roberts Wesleyan, Hill came off the bench to drop 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and three steals.
Danielle Hippner, Molloy
Senior | C | East Meadow, NY
Hippner was a defensive force in the paint for the Lions this week. The senior made her presence known against Mercy on Saturday, blocking a career-high nine shots while collecting seven rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench; the nine rejections rank third in single-game blocks across NCAA Division II this season.
Karolina Jaruseviciute, St. Thomas Aquinas
Graduate Student | F | Toms River, NJ
Jaruseviciute had a strong defensive week as STAC split a pair of conference home games. The graduate student forward averaged 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game for the Spartans. In a 68-67 overtime win against Molloy, she tallied 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out an assist, swiped a steal, and blocked six shots in 36 minutes. She followed up with 14 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 33 minutes in a 64-61 loss to Queens. Jaruseviciute shot 59.0 percent (10-of-17) from the field and 88.0 percent (7-of-8) from the foul line.
Samantha Muller, Molloy
Senior | F | North Babylon, NY
Muller put together a pair of 20 point performances in a 1-1 week for the Lions. The senior helped build Molloy's come back to force overtime against St Thomas Aquinas, shooting eight-of-eight from the foul line in the fourth quarter and overtime. In Saturday's victory over Mercy, Muller led the Lions with 20 points while collecting six rebounds and four steals. On the week, Muller averaged 20 points and 4.5 steals per game while shooting 87 percent from the foul line (13-of-15).
Claire Pikett, Daemen
Junior | F | Holland, NY
Pikett put up another stellar performance in the win over D'Youville, totaling 18 points after shooting 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from the field, banking two triples, and going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. She led the team with six assists and added five rebounds (three offensive) and had one block and two steals on the day.
Alexa Quirolo, Staten Island
Graduate Student | F | New Rochelle, NY
Quirolo scored a career-high 33 points in CSI's lone outing this week, a win over Roberts Wesleyan University. The graduate student shot an efficient 11-of-19 (58.0 percent) from the floor and 8-of-13 (62.0 percent) from beyond the arc. Quirolo also finished just one rebound shy of a double-double and added three assists in the best performance of her career.
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
Dec. 16 - Danielle DiCintio, Daemen
Dec. 23 - Ashley Chio, Queens
Jan. 6 - Syrita Faraj, St. Thomas Aquinas
Jan. 13 - Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island (4x)
Jan. 20 - Nkiru Awaka, Queens
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
Dec. 16 - Claire Pikett, Daemen
Dec. 23 - Nkiru Awaka, Queens
Jan. 6 - Angelina Barrera, Mercy
Jan. 13 - Nkiru Awaka, Queens (2x)
Jan. 20 - Nkiru Awaka, Queens (3x)
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
Dec. 16 - Ashley Chio, Queens (2x)
Dec. 23 - Ashley Chio, Queens (3x)
Jan. 6 - Grace Lesko, Mercy (2x)
Jan. 13 - Grace Lesko, Mercy (3x)
Jan. 20 - Grace Lesko (4x)
Previously in the Polls
WBCA TOP 25 COACHES POLL
Preseason: Daemen (RV)
Week 1 (11/19) through Week 9 (1/21): --
D2CSC TOP 25 MEDIA POLL
Preseason (11/5): Daemen (RV)
Week 1 (11/12) through Week 9 (1/21): --
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)
Week 5 (12/9): Daemen (10)
Week 6 (12:16): Daemen (9)
Week 7 (1/6): Daemen (10), Mercy (RV)
Week 8 (1/13): Daemen (8)
Week 9 (1/20): Daemen (8), Staten Island (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