Co-Players of the Week
Nkiru Awaka, Queens
Sophomore | F | Hyde Park, NY
Awaka boasted a 30-point, 23-rebound double-double in Queens’ 77-66 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Friday evening to complete the ECC series sweep over the Redhawks. The QC sophomore forward shot 61.1 percent with a career-high tying 11 field goals (18 attempts) and a career-high eight free throws (10 attempts). Awaka pulled down 17 offensive and six defensive boards and added four steals and one block in 38 minutes of action. The 23 rebounds matched the second-best effort in a QC single game and the best since February 2008.
Anna Jankovic, D’Youville
Senior | G/F | Averill Park, NY
Jankovic averaged 19.0 points per game, 13.5 rebounds per game, and 4.0 assists per game in two games for D'Youville this weekend. In Sunday's come-from-behind, double-overtime 81-74 win over St. Thomas Aquinas, Jankovic scored a career-high 28 points (11-of-18 FG, 4-of-6 3FG), including the three-point dagger with 1:06 remaining in double-overtime, grabbed 19 rebounds, 13 of which were defensive, dished out six assists, and recorded two steals. On Friday against Mercy, she scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Defensive Player of the Week
Nkiru Awaka, Queens
Sophomore | F | Hyde Park, NY
Awaka boasted a 30-point, 23-rebound double-double in Queens’ 77-66 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Friday evening to complete the ECC series sweep over the Redhawks. The QC sophomore forward shot 61.1 percent with a career-high tying 11 field goals (18 attempts) and a career-high eight free throws (10 attempts). Awaka pulled down 17 offensive and six defensive boards and added four steals and one block in 38 minutes of action. The 23 rebounds matched the second-best effort in a QC single game and the best since February 2008.
Rookie of the Week
Ne'vaeh Buntley, Daemen
Freshman | F | Rochester, NY
Buntley averaged 16.0 points per game in Daemen's routs over St. Thomas Aquinas, 72-53, and Mercy, 56-40, this weekend. The Daemen freshman scored a career-high 21 points against the Spartans on Friday night, where she shot 50 percent both from the field (9-of-18 FG) and beyond the arc (3-of-6 3FG) with nine rebounds. Buntley then added 11 points and six rebounds in the Wildcats' win over Mercy on Sunday and finished the weekend with 15 rebounds, three assists, four steals and one block.
ECC Weekly Honor Roll
Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island
Senior | F | Troy, NY
Alarcon averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in two games as she helped lead the regionally-ranked Dolphins to a 2-0 week. On Wednesday against Lincoln University, she scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds while shooting 7-of-12 from the field. On Saturday against UDC, the CSI senior scored 17 points, collected five rebounds, and shot 11-of-12 from the line.
Angelina Barrera, Mercy
Junior | F | Gloucester City, NJ
Barrera averaged a team-high 14.0 points per game on 58.8 percent shooting with 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game as Mercy went 1-1 on the week. The junior opened the week with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting with five rebounds and three assists in the win over D'Youville on Friday. The forward ended the week with a team-high 11 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block against first-place Daemen on Sunday.
Syrita Faraj, St. Thomas Aquinas
Senior | G/F | Troy, NY
Faraj averaged 21.0 points and 11.0 rebounds over two contests last week for STAC. The senior guard/forward tallied 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 31 minutes in a 72-53 loss to Daemen before recording 21 points, 15 rebounds, one assist, and a steal in 43 minutes in an 81-74 double overtime loss against D'Youville. Faraj shot 41.0 percent (15-of-37) from the field, 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from beyond the arc and 73.0 percent from the charity stripe (8-of-11).
Sofie Fuglsang, D’Youville
Senior | F | Oberanven, Luxembourg
Fuglsang averaged 19.0 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, and 3.5 assists per game in two games for D'Youville this weekend. In Sunday's comeback win over St. Thomas Aquinas, Fuglsang tied a career-high with 24 points, dished out five assists, and grabbed four rebounds. She went 6-for-8 from beyond the arc and buried a three-pointer with five seconds left to send the game to overtime and made one with forty seconds left in OT to send the game to double-overtime. On Friday against Mercy, she scored a team-high 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded two steals and a block.
Danielle Hippner, Molloy
Senior | C | East Meadow, NY
Hippner etched herself atop the Molloy record books on Sunday, becoming the program’s all-time blocks leader. With three blocks against Roberts Wesleyan, Hippner sits atop the list totaling 216 throughout her career, breaking the record of 213 blocks that has been in place since 2011, set by Caitlin Wheeler. The Molloy center added 11 points, six rebounds, and two steals to her stat line in the victory over Roberts Wesleyan.
Laci Johnson, District of Columbia
Senior | G | Herndon, VA
Johnson scored a game-high 22 points in the Firebirds’ loss to Staten Island this week, hitting her 1,000th career point in the process.
Grace Lesko, Mercy
Sophomore | F | Northampton, PA
Lesko averaged 12.5 points per game and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game with 2.0 assists per game as Mercy went 1-1 on the week. The sophomore opened the week with 16 points and eight rebounds with four assists in the win over D'Youville on Friday. The forward ended the week with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds against first-place Daemen on Sunday.
Sophia Yearwood, Molloy
Junior | G | Northport, NY
Yearwood was a catalyst for the Molloy offense in the Lions’ victory over Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday. The junior netted a career-high 22 points, shooting 75 percent from three-point range (6-of-8) in 20 minutes off the bench.
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
Jan. 27 - Nkiru Awaka, Queens (2x)
Feb. 3 - Sofie Fuglsang, D'Youville
Feb. 10 - Nkiru Awaka, Queens (3x) and Anna Jankovic, D'Youville
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)
Jan. 27 - Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island (4x)
Feb. 3 - Grace Dow, Roberts Wesleyan
Feb. 10 - Nkiru Awaka, Queens (4x)
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)
Jan. 27 - Ashley Chio, Queens (4x)
Feb. 3 - Aliviya Vallone Russell, D'Youville (2x)
Feb. 10 - Ne'vaeh Buntley, Daemen
Previously in the Polls
WBCA TOP 25 COACHES POLL
Preseason: Daemen (RV)
Week 1 (11/19) through Week 12 (2/11): --
D2CSC TOP 25 MEDIA POLL
Preseason (11/5): Daemen (RV)
Week 1 (11/12) through Week 12 (2/11): --
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)
Week 10 (1/27): Daemen (7), Staten Island (10)
Week 11 (2/3): Daemen (6), Staten Island (T-9), Mercy (RV)
Week 12 (2/10): Daemen (T-5), Staten Island (9)
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