Patriot League Women’s Basketball Regular Season Awards

By: Greg Levinsky and Andrew Mason

With the 2017-18 Patriot League regular season slate ending this Wednesday and the chase for the Patriot League title upcoming, it’s time for the Patriot League Post-Season awards. Ahead of the release of the awards on Monday, WTBU’s Greg Levinsky and Andrew Mason provide you with their picks for this year’s awards.

Player of the Year:

Greg: Emily Kinneston, American (Sr. G)

Andrew: Emily Kinneston, American (Sr. G)

Our Take (Greg): Kinneston guided the Eagles to a 16-1 mark in conference play with one game left, and finished third in points per game (15.3) and first in assists (4.3). Her leadership and solid statistics put her over the top. Against BU, Kinneston reached an outstanding 1,000 career points.

Defensive Player of the Year:

Greg: Kaila Clark, Navy (So. F)

Andrew: Kaila Clark, Navy (So. F)

Our Take (Greg): Clark led the league in blocks per game (2.1) and was top 10 in steals per game (1.6) for the conference’s top scoring defense. Despite being undersized at 5-foot-11, she can do it all on the defensive end.

Rookie of the Year:

Greg: Izzy Therien, Loyola (Fr. F)

Andrew: Natalie Kucowski, Lafayette (Fr. F)

Our Take (Andrew): Kucowski lead the entire conference in rebounds per game (10.6) and acted as the go-to option for the Leopards despite being just 19-years-old. With 11.4 points per game, she was one of only three players in the PL to average a double-double (Karcz, Hovren).

Coach of the Year:

Greg: Megan Gebbia, American

Andrew: Stefanie Pemper, Navy

Our Take (Andrew): Pemper crafted her defense to allow a Patriot League-best 53.6 points per contest. The ten-year head coach boasted a team that averaged 65.1 points per game itself, behind only American (65.6). Navy lost just one non-conference game all season, an overtime thriller in New Mexico.

First-Team All-Patriot League:

Greg: Emily Kinneston, American (Sr. G), Quinci Mann, Lehigh (Sr. G), Taylor Dunham, Navy (Sr. G), Laren Manis, Holy Cross (So. F), Madison Hovren, Army (Jr. F)

Andrew: Emily Kinneston, American (Sr. G), Quinci Mann, Lehigh (Sr. G), Taylor Dunham, Navy (Sr. G), Laren Manis, Holy Cross (So. F), Stephanie Karcz, Loyola (So. G)

Our Take (Greg): Manis led the league in scoring, while Kinneston, Dunham and Mann all had strong senior seasons. Hovren anchored Army’s squad.

Our Take (Andrew): Dunham provided the most impressive offensive performance of the season when she reached 34 points on the road in a December matchup against New Mexico. After an impressive back-half of her freshman year, Karcz exploded into the Patriot League scene as one of the most all-around players out there, averaging 14.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists each game.   

Second-Team All-Patriot League:

Greg: Stephanie Karcz, Loyola (So. G), Infiniti Thomas-Waheed, Holy Cross (Sr. G), Nia Irving, Boston University (So. F), Cecily Carl, American (Jr. F), Kaitlyn Slagus, Bucknell (Jr. F)

Andrew: Madison Hovren, Army (Jr. F), Infiniti Thomas-Waheed, Holy Cross (Sr. G), Nia Irving, Boston University (So. F), Cecily Carl, American (Jr. F), Kaitlyn Slagus, Bucknell (Jr. F)

Our Take (Andrew): Irving did not begin the season in Steding’s regular starting unit, but multiple double-double performances allowed her to make the jump.

Third-Team All-Patriot League:

Greg and Andrew: Kate Walker, Bucknell (Jr. G), Hannah Fenske, Navy (Sr. G), Izzy Therien, Loyola (Fr. F), Natalie Kucowski, Lafayette (Fr. F), Summer King, Colgate (So. F)

Our Take (Greg): King deserves the nod despite a Colgate team that struggled. In an injury riddled season for the Raiders, King served as the rock down low. Kate Walker has been solid for Bucknell her entire career and led Bucknell to a win against then-conference undefeated America.

All-Rookie Team:

Greg and Andrew: Drew Freeland, Lafayette (Fr. G), Sophie Gatzounas, Navy (Fr. G),  Katie Nelson, Boston University (Fr. G), Izzy Therien, Loyola (Fr. F), Natalie Kucowski, Lafayette (Fr. F)Our Take (Greg): Nelson started off on an incredible stretch and demonstrated her value playing the entirety of most games. Kucowski and Therien are budding stars on teams that will let them take over.

Our Take (Andrew): Through December, Nelson was on track to take home the Rookie of the Year Award. Her game-clinching 3-pointer at Delaware was one of the most clutch moments in all the PL this season. But Kucowski remained more consistent throughout the entire year.

All-Defensive Team:

Greg: Stephanie Karcz, Loyola (So. G), Janae McNeal, Army (Sr. G), Emily Kinneston, American (Sr. G), Kaila Clark, Navy (So. F), Sophie Beaudry, Boston University (Sr. C)

Andrew: Stephanie Karcz, Loyola (So. G), Janae McNeal, Army (Sr. G), Taylor Dunham (Sr. G), Kaila Clark, Navy (So. F), Sophie Beaudry, Boston University (Sr. C)

Our Take (Greg): Beaudry anchored the Terrier defense, while McNeal stopped players all season at all positions for Army. Karcz led the league in steals by a wide margin.

Our Take (Andrew): Dunham topped the frontline of the best defensive squad in the conference, grabbing 1.5 steals per game for the Mids.

Note: This article was published prior to the last games of the regular season