General | 11/22/2021 12:55:38 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on November 22, 2021, for games played from November 15-November 21. It is the 12th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2021-22 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jalon Borders, Russell Sage, Sr., G, Bartow, FL/Bartow
Borders topped the Gators with 20.5 points per-game in a 2-0 week. Borders, who knocked down 48.1 percent (13-of-27) of his shots from the floor, averaged 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 steals. Borders registered a double-double of 23 points, on 8-of-14 shooting, and 10 rebounds in Saturday's win at SUNY Poly. He netted five of his game-high 18 points in the final minute to help Russell Sage seal Wednesday's home victory versus Castleton.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Stephen Gabel, Nazareth, Gr., G/F, Victor, NY/Victor
Gabel was named Most Valuable Player of the Mark’s Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout after averaging 23.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, as the Golden Flyers knocked off the University of Rochester and RIT in back-to-back games. On Thursday, Gabel poured in a season-high 27 points, shooting 8-for-13 from the floor and 9-for-9 from the foul line, as Nazareth earned its first win over Rochester since 2013. On Saturday, Gabel scored 20 points to go along with eight boards and four assists in a 90-77 win over RIT.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Bryan Adams, Elmira, Fr., F, Stafford, VA/North Stafford
Adams earned his second straight E8 Rookie of the Week honor after averaging 22.5 points, three assists and two rebounds in a pair of games versus Hamilton and SUNY Cortland. Adams scored 23 points versus Hamilton on Tuesday and poured in 22 points to go along with four assists and three boards against Cortland on Saturday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Desiree Roy, Elmira, Fr., G, Plattsburgh, NY/Beekmantown
Roy averaged 16 points and 11 boards, while shooting 54 percent from the floor, while leading Elmira to three wins. Roy recorded the first double-double of her career on Tuesday in an 80-64 victory over Cazenovia, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. She added her second straight double-double on Saturday, pouring in 14 points to go along with 10 boards, before finishing the week with 16 points and nine rebounds against Mount Holyoke on Sunday.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Amanda Jackson, Houghton, Fr., G, Roslyn, PA/Abington
Jackson led the Highlanders in scoring with 19 points in each of their two games last week. Jackson drained nine 3-pointers during the week and averaged 2.5 boards and 2.0 steals per contest as the Highlanders beat Waynesburg Friday before falling to Grove City on Saturday. She needed just 10 shots from the floor to reach points on Saturday, as she converted 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jackson Sorbello, Utica, Sr., Freestyle/Breaststroke, Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy
Sorbello picked up a pair of individual wins versus Wells and Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. He touched the wall first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.39 while later winning the 50-yard butterfly in 26.36, just .12 seconds ahead of second place.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Kira Seaman, Utica, Sr., Breaststroke/Individual Medley, Fort Edward, NY/Hudson Falls
Seaman helped lift the Utica to a win over Wells College on Saturday afternoon after touching the wall first in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:21.82, while also assisting in the team’s 200-yard medley relay win.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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