STANDISH, Maine – The 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball postseason accolades have been announced and a pair of Saint Joseph's College players have been honored.
Senior center Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) has earned First Team All-Conference honors while freshman point guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) has been selected as the 2016 GNAC Rookie of the Year and is also listed on the All-GNAC Second Team.
Cahill, a three-time Second Team All-GNAC honoree, collects First Team acclaim for the first time after averaging 15.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.3 blocked shots per game during her senior season. The two-year team captain leads the conference in blocks (63) and ranks second in the GNAC in field goals made (175), fourth in field goal percentage (47.3%), fifth in points (425), and seventh in rebounds (234) and scoring average.
McNamara, who claimed seven GNAC Rookie of the Week honors this winter, earns Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-GNAC accolades after recording 14.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 steals per contest as a first-year starter. She leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (40%, 62-155) and assists (114) and ranks second in free-throw success (81.6%, 71-87), third in three-pointers made (62), sixth in steals (49), and seventh in points (393).
Amazingly consistent, Cahill has steadily ascended to or near the top of numerous statistical categories at Saint Joseph's. The standout post player is the Monks' all-time blocks leader with 221 rejections and ranks second in scoring (1,636), third in field goals made (655), fourth in free throws made (326), fifth in rebounds (872), and seventh in both rebounding (8.0 RPG) and scoring (15.0 PPG) average. On pace to become the only player in program history to pace the Monks in scoring and rebounding all four years, Cahill has claimed over 60 individual honors during her NCAA career.
McNamara has earned 21 individual honors, including GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player acclaim, this season and has made more three-pointers this winter than any SJC player other than Kristen Chavarie '98, who sank 68 trifectas during the 1996-97 campaign. Her point total this season ranks behind just two other SJC players (Kendra Coates, 451 and Linda Johnson, 426) for the most scored by a freshman in team history.
Saint Joseph's (23-5, 10-1 GNAC), the top seed in the 2016 GNAC Tournament, defeated #3 Emmanuel College, 66-62, in the conference championship on Saturday to earn the GNAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA DIII National Tournament. As announced earlier today, the Monks will play Christopher Newport University in the first round of the NCAA's this Friday at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
2016 All-GNAC Teams:
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
