Farmington, Conn.— University of Maine senior forward Heather Ernest has been named the America East Player of the Year for the second-straight season. She is the first player to win the award in consecutive years since Cindy Blodgett of Maine received the award in 1996 and 1997. Ernest was honored along with Northeastern University senior Joi Jefferson, the Defensive Player of the year, Jessica Smith of Stony Brook University, the Rookie of the Year, and Rich Conover of Binghamton University, the Coach of the Year, at the conference’s awards luncheon at the Farmington Marriott. All voting was conducted by the conference’s head coaches. Awards breakdown.
Ernest ranks third in the conference in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game, third in field goal percentage at .480, and fourth in rebounding with 8.5 rebounds per game. Ernest is the fifth Black Bear to win the award and joins such notable players as Blodgett (1996 and 1997) and Jamie Cassidy (1998-99) also of Maine, and Northeastern’s Katasha Artis (1993-1994 and 1994-1995) as award winners, all of whom went onto play professionally in the WNBA.
Jefferson is the top defensive player for the Huskies as she is first in the conference in steals (82) and ranks 32nd in the nation and second in the conference in steals per game (3.04).
Smith leads the conference in offensive rebounds, averaging 3.85 per game, ranks third overall in rebounding at 9.2 rebounds per game and is averaging 11.9 points per game on the season. Smith is the first Seawolf to receive an individual women’s basketball award in Stony Brook’s three-year tenure with the conference. She will follow in the footsteps of other Rookie of the Year recipients such as Blodgett, Cassidy and Artis.
Conover, whose Bearcats were picked to finish eighth in the preseason coaches’ poll, guided his team to a 17-9 record and a No. 2 seed in the Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Women’s Basketball Championship. Conover, who had been an assistant with Binghamton since 1999, took over the reigns of the program last July.
Ernest was joined on the all-conference first team by junior center Danielle Hutcheson of University at Albany, sophomore guard Rachel Laws of Binghamton, senior guard Katie Terhune of Boston University, and junior forward Aaron Yantzi of University of Vermont.
Hutcheson, who was a second-team choice last season, is averaging 13.2 points per game and ranks second in the conference in rebounding with 9.8 per game and fourth in field goal percentage (.478). Laws is fifth in America East in scoring as she is averaging 14.7 points per game and is also averaging 7.1 rebounds per game. Terhune has been named to the first-team for the third-consecutive year. She ranks second in the conference in scoring at 17.2 points per game and fourth in three-point field goals made with 53 (1.96 per game). Yantzi, a second-team selection the past two seasons, leads America East in scoring (18.7), free throw percentage (.857) and rebounding (10.0). Nationally she ranks 24th in free throw percentage and rebounding.
The second team includes sophomore guard Erika Messam of University of Hartford, Melissa Heon of Maine, Maren Matthias of University of New Hampshire, Maralene Zwarich of Northeastern, and Sherry Jordan of Stony Brook. Messam is averaging 11.0 points per game and ranks third in the conference in both steals (2.29) and assists (3.82) per game. Heon is averaging 11.0 points and 2.84 assists per game. Matthias, who is fourth in the conference in scoring with 15.9 points per game, leads the conference and ranks 22nd in the nation in field goal percentage at .574. Zwarich is averaging 14.3 points per game while Jordan leads the conference and is ranked 20th in the nation with 3.13 steals per game, and scores 11.1 points per game.
The third team consists of junior guard Kate Townley and senior forward Leala Wegwerth of Binghamton, junior forwards Becky Bonner and Adrienne Norris of Boston University, and Smith of Stony Brook. Townley leads the conference in assists per game with 4.77 and Wegwerth is averaging 10.2 points per game. Bonner, who is averaging 14.4 points per game, leads the conference and is ranked seventh in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.441). Norris is averaging 10.0 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Ikea Witt of Hartford, Ray Williams of New Hampshire, Jody Burrows of Northeastern and Mykeema Ford of Stony Brook join Smith on the all-rookie team. Witt is knocking down 10.2 points per game while Williams chalked up 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in conference matches this season. Burrows ranks sixth in the conference with 3.37 steals per game while Ford lists eighth in the conference in scoring at 13.3 points per contest and buried 48 three-pointers for the Seawolves during the regular season.
The all-conference choices will be in action this week at the Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Women’s Basketball Championship at the Chase Family Arena on the Hartford campus. No. 7 Northeastern and No. 10 University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) open the championship with a first-round game Wednesday at 7 p.m. No. 8 New Hampshire and No. 9 Stony Brook follow. Quarterfinal games continue Thursday with No. 3 Boston University and No. 6 Vermont at 12 noon. No. 2 Binghamton and the winner of the Northeastern/UMBC game follow. No. 1 Maine plays the winner of the New Hampshire/Stony Brook game at 6 p.m. No. 4 Albany and No. 5 Hartford follow. Semifinal games are slated for Friday at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., while the Championship will take place Saturday at 4 p.m.