ROCHESTER, NY – Senior forward Jessica Berry of Utica College repeated as Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and earned first-team honors for the fourth consecutive year as part of the 2011 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball All-Conference Team announcement.
Earlier this month, Berry became the 11th player in NCAA Division III women’s basketball history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career. She enters the conference tournament leading the Empire 8 in scoring (21.6 points per game), rebounding (10.7 rpg), and steals (3.4 spg), while ranking third in field goal percentage (51.9 percent).
Sophomore forward Meghan Fiore of the Pioneers joined Berry on the all-conference first team. She led the Empire 8 in scoring (21.0 points per game) in conference games. Overall, she leads the conference in field goal percentage (58.7 percent), while averaging 18.0 points per game.
Senior forward Elissa Klie of regular season champion Ithaca College was named to the all-conference first team after earning second-team recognition a year ago. Klie enters the postseason tournament averaging 11.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.9 steals per contest.
Senior guard Colleen Maloney of St. John Fisher College received first-team honors for the first time after being named to the all-conference second team the past two seasons. She enters the postseason averaging 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Junior forward Brittany Wilson, a second-team selection last year, was named to the all-conference first team. She finished the season averaging 16.7 points and 7.2 boards per game.
Courtney Tennant became the third consecutive Rochester Institute of Technology player to be selected as Rookie of the Year. She averaged 15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Dan Raymond was named Coach of the Year for the third consecutive time and sixth time in his career as he led Ithaca to the conference regular season title and the top seed in the Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2011 Women’s Basketball Sportswoman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
2011 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Honors
Player of the Year: Jessica Berry, Utica College
Rookie of the Year: Courtney Tennant, Rochester Institute of Technology
Coach of the Year: Dan Raymond, Ithaca College
Empire 8 Women's Basketball All-Conference Release