Women's Basketball | 2/21/2024 1:59:13 PM
St. John Fisher junior guard Sidney Tomasso was named Player of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2023-24 Women’s Basketball All-Conference awards on Wednesday, February 21. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Tomasso is enjoying a tremendous season for the Cardinals, currently second in the Empire 8 in scoring, averaging 16.0 points per game to go along with 6.9 boards per contest, eighth-best in the league. In addition, Tomasso is averaging 2.2 steals per game, which is sixth in the league, while shooting 78.5 percent from the foul line. Tomasso, who was also an All-E8 first team selection in 2022-23, has scored in double figures 20 times this season and has seven games with at least 20 points. Tomasso is St. John Fisher’s third Empire 8 Player of the Year in program history and first since 2006.
Senior guard Trinity Copeland of Houghton University was named the 2023-24 Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year. Copeland leads a Houghton defense that allows just 48.0 points per game this season, fewest in the E8. She averages 6.2 rebounds, is second in the league in steals, averaging 2.7 per game and is seventh in the league, averaging a block per game. She is the first Houghton student-athlete to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors.
St. John Fisher forward Joleen Lusk and Utica University forward Vanessa Hall were named Empire 8 Co-Rookies of the Year.
Lusk is averaging 14.5 points, fourth-best in the league, a league-leading 9.4 boards and 1.6 blocks per game (tied for second), while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor, third in the Empire 8. Lusk is a four-time Empire 8 Rookie of the Week and has recorded 10 double-doubles this season. She is the third St. John Fisher student-athlete to earn E8 Rookie of the Year honors.
Hall leads the league in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game. She is fourth in the league, shooting 46 percent from the floor and leads the E8, shooting 80.4 percent from the foul line. In addition, Hall has pulled down 5.3 rebounds per game and leads the team in blocked shots. Hall scored in double figures in all but one game hit the 20-point mark 11 times. A five-time E8 Rookie of the Week, Hall is the fourth Utica student-athlete to earn E8 Rookie of the Year honors.
Nazareth University and Houghton University shared 2023-24 Empire 8 Co-Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Nazareth, led by head coach Kelly Dunne-Romig and her staff have led the Golden Flyers to a share of the E8 regular season title with a 14-2 record in league play and a 22-3 overall mark heading into semifinal action. Nazareth is out-scoring opponents by an average of 19.5 points per game this season (72.1-52.6) and lead the league in field goals shooting at 46.5 percent. It is Nazareth’s second E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honor.
Houghton, led by head coach Phil Pellegrino and his staff finished 12-4 in league play and enter the semifinals with an 22-4 overall mark. The Highlanders have allowed just 48 points per game and opponents to shoot just 30.8 percent from the floor this season, fewest in the E8. It is Houghton's first E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honor in women's basketball.
Houghton’s Kayla Camacho and Nazareth’s Olivia Dobrovosky joined Tomasso, Lusk and Hall on the Empire 8 first team this season. Camacho is third in the league in scoring, averaging 14.7 points to go along with 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game this season for the Highlanders. Dobrovosky is averaging 12.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in 2023-24, while shooting 51 percent from the floor, which is second-best in the conference.
Semifinal action is set for the 2024 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship. Top-seed St. John Fisher will take on No. 4 seed Hartwick on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. in one semifinal, while No. 2 seed Nazareth will host No. 3 seed Houghton in the other semifinal at 5:30 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for 2024 Empire 8 Championship at the site of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Empire 8 Champion receives an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2023-24 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.
2023-24 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Sidney Tomasso, Jr., G, St. John Fisher
Defensive Player of the Year: Trinity Copeland, Jr., G/F, Houghton
Co-Rookie of the Year: Joleen Lusk, Fr., F, St. John Fisher
Co-Rookie of the Year: Vanessa Hall, Fr., F, Utica
Coaching Staff of the Year: Nazareth, led by head coach Kelly Dunne-Romig
Coaching Staff of the Year: Houghton, led by head coach Phil Pellegrino
Empire 8 First Team
Kayla Camacho, Jr., G, Houghton (Spartanburg, SC/Spartanburg Christian)
Olivia Dobrovosky, Gr., G, Nazareth (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles)
Joleen Lusk, Fr., F, St. John Fisher (Cherry Valley, NY/Cherry Valley Springfield)
Sidney Tomasso, Jr., G, St. John Fisher (Waverly, NY/Waverly)
Vanessa Hall, Fr., F, Utica (Whitesville, NY/Whitesville)
Empire 8 Second Team
Bree Fargnoli, Sr., F, Hartwick (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks)
Crysta Lacrosse, So., G, Houghton (Liberty Township, OH/Mt. Notre Dame)
Molly Benetti, So., F, Nazareth (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee)
Katie MacLachlan, So., G, Nazareth (Marcellus, NY/Marcellus)
Claire Kruszka, Sr., G, St. John Fisher (Lake View, NY/Frontier)
Empire 8 Third Team
Leah Harkinrider, Sr., G, Alfred (Hornell, NY/Hornell)
Laura Bogota, Jr., G, Elmira (Jackson Heights, NY/Springfield Commonwealth)
Isabella Astorino, Sr., F, Hartwick (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley)
Kiara Anglin, So., G, Nazareth (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Layla Acosta, So., G, Russell Sage (Haines City, FL/Haines City)
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Mackenzie Cannon, So., F, Alfred (Odessa, NY/Odessa Montour)
Alleney Klunk, Sr., G, Elmira (Felton, PA/Red Lion)
Angelina Maselli, Sr., G, Hartwick (Burlington, CT/Kingswood Oxford)
Hannah Roeske, Sr., G, Houghton (Fillmore, NY/Fillmore)
Caiden Crego, Jr., G, Keuka (Lyons, NY/Lyons)
Olivia Dobrovosky, Gr., G, Nazareth (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles)
Gwen Eichen, Sr., F, Russell Sage (Moriah, NY/Moriah)
Emily McLaughlin, Jr., G, St. John Fisher (Elma, NY/Iroquois)
Krissy Geraci, Sr., F, Utica (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia)
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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