STANDISH, Maine – The 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball postseason honors have been announced and three members from Saint Joseph's College, recently crowned as the GNAC Champions, have garnered accolades.
Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83 has been selected as the 2017 GNAC Coach of the Year, sophomore guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) has collected GNAC Player of the Year and First Team All-GNAC honors, and sophomore forward Emily Benway (Rochester, N.H.) is listed on the All-GNAC Second Team.
McDevitt, now in his 25th collegiate season (24 with SJC), earns his second GNAC top coach honor – and ninth yearly coaching award of his career – after leading the Monks to a 24-4 record and, with a 15-1 record in conference play, the top seed in the GNAC North Division this winter. In postseason play last week, the Monks won three hard-fought conference tourney contests, with a 64-61 quarterfinal triumph over Albertus Magnus on Tuesday, a 91-90 double-overtime semifinal win versus Johnson & Wales on Thursday, and an 81-70 overtime triumph over Emmanuel in the GNAC Championship on Saturday. The latter victory lifted the Monks to their third conference title in the last four seasons and counted as the 500th victory – and 11th conference crown – for Coach McDevitt.
McNamara, the 2016 GNAC Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-GNAC honoree, becomes the first SJC player to garner GNAC Player of the Year honors after leading the team in scoring (16.0 PPG), points (449), three-pointers made (76), free-throws made (85), assists (134), steals (44), and blocked shots (10). Nearing the tail end of the most impressive three-point shooting season in program history, McNamara leads the NCAA DIII New England Region in trifectas made with a total that shattered the Monks' previous single-season record (68, Kristen Chavarie '98 during 1996-97 campaign). She also leads the GNAC in assists, is second in FT% (80.2%), fourth in points and 3FG%, and fifth in scoring average.
McNamara is the first Saint Joseph's women's basketball player to earn conference Player of the Year accolades since 2002, when senior Stacey Gelinas '02 claimed her second consecutive Maine Athletic Conference (MAC) top player honor.
McNamara also excelled in the GNAC Tournament, averaging 24.3 points, 5.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds to garner Tournament MVP honors for the second consecutive season. She helped lead SJC to back-to-back overtime wins in the semifinals against Johnson & Wales University and in the title game against Emmanuel College.
Benway collects the first All-Conference nod of her career after averaging 14.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game – the highest mark by an SJC player in 20 years (Alison Cropley brought down 9.4 per game in 1996-97) - while shooting 51.5% (158-307) from the floor during her sophomore season. She currently ranks third in the GNAC in FG% and fifth in rebounds average and registered nine double-doubles this winter.
In their third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four years, the Monks will face off against #3 Tufts University in an opening round contest on Friday evening. Starting time is TBA.
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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.
