Women's Basketball | 3/14/2023 4:53:55 PM
Empire 8 women’s basketball standouts Syrita Faraj of Russell Sage College, Brielle Reidinger of Nazareth College and the St. John Fisher University duo of Sidney Tomasso and Kaitlyn Walker earned 2022-23 D3hoops.com All-Region 3 honors on Tuesday, March 14.Faraj earned first team accolades, while Reidinger was the Region 3 Rookie of the Tear and both Tomasso and Walker were second team selections.
Faraj, who was last month was named the Empire 8 Player of the Year, enjoyed a tremendous sophomore season for the Gators, leading the Empire 8 in scoring, averaging 20.2 points per game to go along with 8.6 boards per contest, fifth most in the league. In addition, Faraj averaged 1.9 steals per game and made 140 free throws this season, nearly 50 more than any other E8 student-athlete. A model of consistency, Faraj scored in double figures in all 26 games this season. She had 14 games with at least 20 points and scored a career-high 32 points on two occasions. In 17 league games, Faraj, a native of Troy, NY, averaged 20.5 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the floor and 79.5 percent from the foul line. She scored 524 points in 2022-23 and was named to the Empire 8 Championship All-Tournament Team after leading Russell Sage to the league semifinals.
Reidinger was named the 2022-23 Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Year on her way to earning the regional honor. She averaged 11.0 points per game to go along with 9.2 rebounds per contest, fourth best in the league. A three-time E8 Rookie of the Week, Reidinger has recorded 10 double-doubles this season. She finished with 239 rebounds in her freshman season, which ranks first all-time for a freshman at Nazareth. Reidinger shot 82.2 percent at the free throw line all year, making 60 of her 73 attempts. The Reading, PA native scored in double figures for the Golden Flyers in 17 of 27 games, including scoring a career-high 24 points against Utica University on January 31.
Tomasso, a sophomore from Waverly, NY, led the Empire 8 Champion Cardinals in scoring, averaging 14.5 points, while grabbing 5.1 rebounds, to go along with 1.9 steals per game, while shooting 47.5 percent from the field. She scored in double figures 24 times in 2022-23 and earned All-Empire 8 first team accolades. She was also named to the Empire 8 Championship All-Tournament Team after leading the Cardinals to their seventh E8 title and berth in the NCAA Tournament. St. John Fisher finished the 2022-23 season with a 26-3 mark.
Walker, an All-Empire 8 first team selection in 2021 and 2023 and second team pick in 2022, led the Cardinals to a 26-3 record, where they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A native of Camillus, NY, Walker averaged 12.5 points, 8.2 boards and 1.3 blocks per game, while shooting a league best 52 percent from the floor. Walker was named Most Valuable Player of the Empire 8 Championship Tournament after leading the Cardinals to their second straight league title. She scored in double figures 20 times and recorded six double-doubles this season.
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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