Hall, Hand Headline 2016-17 Division I Women's Basketball Major Awards & All-Star Selections
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced its 2016-17 Division I Women’s Basketball major award recipients and All-ECAC selections.
James Madison University’s Precious Hall earns the honor for Player of the Year, while Rebekah Hand of the Marist College claims the award for Rookie of the Year. Charlotte Smith of Elon University rounds out the major awards with the 2016-17 ECAC Division I Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year accolade.
Hall’s award comes after she garnered the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year award for a second time. During the regular season, the redshirt-senior averaged 23.3 points per game, ranking fifth nationally and pushing her career scoring total to 2,260 points, the second-best mark in JMU history. She strung together a 32-game double-digit scoring streak during the regular season and CAA tournament, the second-longest streak in JMU history and the most double-digit performances in a single season. Partly due to her prolific scoring, Hall was named to the midseason watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, presented annually to the women’s national player of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The redshirt-senior moved up the charts in several other JMU career categories this season, and now sits third in made field goals (757); second in made 3-pointers (296); fourth in made free throws (450); second in games started (127) and tied for fourth in games played (136).
Hand was named the unanimous 2016-17 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year after an impressive rookie campaign. Through 32 games, Hand registered 438 points (13.7 points per game), 218 boards (6.8 rebounds per game) and 97 assists (3.03 per game). The eight-time MAAC Rookie of the Week adds ECAC Division I Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year to her list of accolades.
Smith was selected as the CAA Coach of the Year after leading Elon to its best season in Division I program history. Under her guidance, the Phoenix totaled 27 wins in 2016-17, winning the program’s first conference regular-season and tournament titles en route to reaching the first NCAA Tournament in program history. Smith reached an individual milestone as well this season, winning her 100th career game on Jan. 15 in a 65-45 win over Drexel.
Player of the Year
Precious Hall – James Madison University, R-Sr.
Rookie of the Year
Rebekah Hand – Marist College, Fr.
Coach of the Year
Charlotte Smith – Elon University
All-ECAC First Team
Precious Hall – James Madison University, RS-Sr.
Alexis Peterson – Syracuse University, Sr.
Michelle Nwokedi – University of Pennsylvania, Jr.
Feyonda Fitzgerald – Temple University, Sr.
Teniya Page – Penn State University, So.
All-ECAC Second Team*
Jessica Kovatch – Saint Francis University, So.
Imani Watkins – Binghamton University, Jr.
Nia Marshall – Cornell University, Sr.
Katie Benzan – Harvard University, Fr.
Amy Griffin – La Salle University, Jr.
Shay Burnett – Elon University, Jr.
*Additional player added due to tie
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