COLONIA, NJ – The East Coast Conference announced its 2025 Women’s Basketball All-Conference honorees on Thursday afternoon, with Staten Island senior forward Jenalyse Alarcon (Troy, NY) headlining the list as the league’s Player of the Year. Queens sophomore forward Nkiru Awaka (Hyde Park, NY) was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year while Mercy freshman guard/forward Grace Lesko (Northampton, PA) earned Rookie of the Year accolades. Daemen’s Jenepher Banker received Coach of the Year recognition to round out the major award winners, with all voting completed by the league’s nine head coaches.
Alarcon topped the ECC in both steals (67) and free throws made (122) at the conclusion of the regular season. She also ranked in the league’s top five in scoring (14.4 ppg), field goal percentage (46.5), free throw percentage (75.3), rebounding (215/7.7 rbg) and defensive rebounding (162/5.8 rbg), and blocked shots (26). The five-time ECC Player of the Week and four-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week scored in double figures 21 times, recorded three double-doubles, and posted 14 games with three or more steals to lead the Dolphins to a 20-8 overall mark and 13-3 split in ECC play.
Alarcon and No. 2 Staten Island enter this week’s ECC Women’s Basketball Championship as the No. 2 seed and will face the winner of All-ECC Second Teamer Laci Johnson and No. 6 District of Columbia vs. All-ECC First Teamer Angelena Barrera and No. 3 Mercy on Saturday, March 8 in Amherst, NY.
Awaka topped the ECC with 281 rebounds (11.2 rpg) and 164 offensive rebounds (11.2 rpg) while adding 2.2 steals per game and 1.4 blocks per game, which ranked third and fourth in the league, respectively. The three time ECC Player of the Week and four-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week posted 15 double-digit rebounding games and a conference-leading 12 double-doubles after averaging 13.6 points per game (5th in ECC) on a conference-leading 57.0 percent shooting from the field (131-for-230).
Five-time ECC Rookie of the Week Lesko led all ECC freshmen in scoring (11.2 ppg), field goal percentage (41.2, 107-for-260), and rebounding (6.5 rpg) while adding 31 steals and 18 blocks on the year. Lesko scored in double figures 12 times in her rookie campaign, including in 11 of the last 14 games of the season.
Lesko poured in 20 points (8-of-14 FG) and added nine rebounds to lead No. 3 Mercy to a 73-49 win over No. 6 District of Columbia in the ECC Women’s Basketball Championship First Round on Wednesday evening; the Mavs now advance to Saturday's ECC Semifinals vs. No. 2 Staten Island at 2:30 PM in Amherst, NY.
After guiding the Wildcats to a 19-7 overall record and 15-1 mark in conference play as well as their sixth consecutive ECC Regular Season Championship, Daemen’s Banker has earned ECC Coach of the Year honors from her peers for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Under Banker’s direction, Daemen topped the ECC in winning percentage (73.1) and scoring defense as the ‘Cats held their opposition to an average of 55.7 points per game with 18 games of 60 points or fewer allowed.
Banker and the Wildcats enter this week’s ECC Women’s Basketball Championship as the No. 1 seed and will face the winner of All-ECC Third Teamer Samantha Muller and No. 5 Molloy vs. All-ECC First Teamer Anna Jankovic and No. 4 D’Youville on Saturday, March 8 at home in Amherst, NY.
Joining Alarcon and Awaka on the First Team are Daemen’s Claire Pikett, D’Youville’s Anna Jankovic, Mercy’s Angelina Barrera, and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Syrita Faraj.
The Second Team is comprised of Daemen’s Danielle DiCintio, District of Columbia’s Laci Johnson, Mercy’s Amani Abuhatab, Roberts Wesleyan’s Georgia Haverlock, and Staten Island’s Amber Abusbeih while Lesko is joined on the Third Team by fellow Maverick Jaclyn Stanavich, Daemen’s Ne’Vaeh Buntley, D’Youville’s Sofie Fuglsang, and Molloy’s Samantha Muller.
2025 ECC Women’s Basketball All-Conference
First Team
Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island
Nkiru Awaka, Queens
Angelina Barrera, Mercy
Syrita Faraj, St. Thomas Aquinas
Anna Jankovic, D’Youville
Claire Pikett, Daemen
Second Team
Amani Abuhatab, Mercy
Amber Abusbeih, Staten Island
Danielle DiCintio, Daemen
Georgia Haverlock, Roberts Wesleyan
Laci Johnson, District of Columbia
Third Team
Ne'Vaeh Buntley, Daemen
Sofie Fuglsang, D’Youville
Grace Lesko, Mercy
Samantha Muller, Molloy
Jaclyn Stanavich, Mercy
Player of the Year: Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island
Defensive Player of the Year: Nkiru Awaka, Queens
Rookie of the Year: Grace Lesko, Mercy
Coach of the Year: Jenepher Banker, Daemen