Women's Basketball | 4/7/2021 1:57:54 PM
Regular Season Champion Nazareth College garnered three of four individual awards, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2021 Women’s Basketball All-Conference awards on Wednesday, April 7. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Nazareth junior forward Jadyn Abrams was named the 2021 Empire 8 Player of the Year. Abrams, a 2018-19 and 2019-20 All-Empire 8 second team selection, has an enjoyed an excellent year for the Golden Flyers, averaging 17.9 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game. She is shooting 48 percent from the floor, 49 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the foul line and has scored in doubles figures in all 11 games this season. She becomes the third Nazareth student-athlete to earn E8 Player of the Year honors, joining Samantha Peebles in 2017-18 and Rachel Benedict in 2018-19.
Fellow Nazareth junior guard Caley Cornwell was named the 2021 Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year. Cornwell, a 5-foot-9 guard, has helped Nazareth allow opponents to just 55.0 points per game this season and 32.7 percent shooting from the floor. She is among the league leaders, averaging 2.3 steals per game to go along with nearly a block per contest. Cornwell is also averaging 6.7 points and 4.5 boards per game.
First-year standout Claire Kruszka of St. John Fisher College was named the E8 Rookie of the Year. Kruszka has appeared in all 11 games for the Cardinals, averaging 9.7 points per game to go along with 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 2021. Kruszka is St. John Fisher’s second Empire 8 Rookie of the Year in program history, joining Portia Velasco, who was honored in 2011-12.
Nazareth head coach Kelly Dunne and her staff were named the 2021 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Golden Flyers won the Empire 8 regular season title, going 7-1 in league play and are riding a seven-game winning streak. It is Nazareth’s first E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honor.
Four of the five 2021 Empire 8 first team selections are making their first appearance on the all-conference team, as Abrams is the lone repeat honoree. Russell Sage’s senior duo of Madasyn Bush and Sammy Pasinella were third and fourth, respectively in scoring during league play. Bush averaged 14.2 points and paced all E8 players in rebounds, pulling down 9.7 caroms per game, while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the foul line. Pasinella averaged 13.7 points per game to go along with 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals and paced all E8 players by shooting 93.8 percent from the line. St. John Fisher junior guard Amy Gardner and sophomore forward Kaitlyn Walker were also first team picks. Gardner is averaging 9.7 points, 4.7 boards and 2.5 assists per game, while Walker is averaging 13.2 points and 8.9 boards per game, while shooting a league-best 58 percent from the floor.
Nazareth and St. John Fisher will meet for the 2021 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship at 7 p.m. from Kidera Gymnasium Thursday evening. The Golden Flyers are attempting to win their first E8 title in program history, while St. John Fisher is looking for its second straight league title and sixth overall.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 Spring Women's Basketball Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference 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.
2021 Empire 8 Spring Women’s Basketball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Jadyn Abrams, Jr., F, Nazareth
Defensive Player of the Year: Caley Cornwell, Jr., G, Nazareth
Rookie of the Year: Claire Kruszka, Fr., G, St. John Fisher
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by Head Coach Kelly Dunne
Empire 8 First Team
Jadyn Abrams, Jr., F, Nazareth
Madasyn Bush, Sr., F, Russell Sage
Sammy Pasinella, Sr., G, Russell Sage
Amy Gardner, Jr., G, St. John Fisher
Kaitlyn Walker, So., F, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team
Gillian Flint, Sr., G, Alfred
Kim Davis, Jr., F, Nazareth
Ryann Stefaniak, So., G, Nazareth
Claire Kruszka, Fr., G, St. John Fisher
Miranda Lynch, Jr., G, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Amanda Figueroa, Sr., G, Alfred
Amelia Poole, Jr., G, Keuka
Elizabeth White, Sr., G, Nazareth
Kyra Oeffler, Jr., F, Russell Sage
Anna Milham, So., G, St. John Fisher
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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