STANDISH, Maine – The 2023 Maine Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) postseason accolades have been announced and a pair of Saint Joseph's College players have earned honors.
Freshman guard Elisabeth Stapelfeld (Brookline, N.H.) has been selected as the MWBCA Rookie of the Year and garnered MWBCA All-Rookie Team honors and junior guard Hannah Talon (Windham, Maine) has earned First Team All-State accolades.
Stapelfeld becomes the third Saint Joseph's player in the last 10 years to garner MWBCA Rookie of the Year honors after averaging 10.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with 54 assists and 31 steals while shooting 49.7% (96-193) from the field and 82.6% (38-46) from the FT line in 25 regular season games.
Stapelfeld, who was named as the MWBCA Rookie of the Week five times this season, joins former SJC standouts Morgan Cahill '16 and Kelsi McNamara '19 (currently an assistant coach for the Monks) as one of three players to have earned the State high honor.
Talon earns First Team All-State after averaging 13.6 points, 4.3 boards, and 2.8 assists while shooting 54.5% (116-213) from the field, 40.3% (27-67) from downtown, and 79.4% (81-102) from the FT line in 25 regular season games.
Under the watch of 31st-year Head Coach Mike McDevitt '83 this winter, the Monks posted a 23-5 overall record with a 15-2 mark in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play en route to earning the top seed in the GNAC North Division. After disposing of Johnson & Wales University and Rivier University in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively, Saint Joseph's registered a thrilling 74-67 victory over #2N Emmanuel College to claim the 2023 GNAC Championship and automatic qualifier into the NCAA DIII Tournament.
MWBCA RELEASE:
Meghan Graff, Elisabeth Stapelfeld, and Craig Dagan Head All-State Awards
Bates College senior guard Meghan Graff has been chosen as the Maine Women's Basketball Coaches Association (MWBCA) 2023 Player of the Year, while Elisabeth Stapelfeld from Saint Joseph's College has been selected as the Rookie of the Year and Craig Dagan from Maine Maritime Academy was picked as the Coach of the Year.
Graff, a native of South Portland, Maine, led the state in scoring and was 2nd in NESCAC at 20.6 points per game. Graff was recognized as the MWBCA Player of the Week on four separate occasions during the 2022-2023 season. She scored 495 points this year, which is the second most in one season in Bates history and her 1,645 career points is the most all-time.
Stapelfeld, a freshman from Brookline, N.H., averaged 10.2 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per contest, had 54 assists and collected 31 steals in her first season with the Monks. She shot 49.7% from the floor and 82.6% from the charity stripe while helping her squad to 20-5 regular season record. Stapelfeld garnered five MWBCA Rookie of the Week awards during the 2022-2023 season.
Dagan was named the MWBCA Coach of the Year for the third time after leading the Mariners to a 21-6 season and their second consecutive regular season NAC title. The Mariners went 13-1 in NAC regular season games and 11-1 against Maine schools during the 2022-2023 season. This is MMA's third 20-win season in the last 4 years under Dagan.
