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NEC Player of the Week: Anna Niki Stamolamprou, RMU
NEC Rookie of the Week: Kerstie Phills, WAG
Previous NEC Releases: Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason Poll Release | Preseason All-NEC Release
NEC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ANNA NIKI STAMOLAMPROU, ROBERT MORRIS
G, Sr., 5-9, Thessaloniki, Greece
WEEK 9 STATS: 2 games, 26.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg, .450 FG pct., .430 3FG pct.
Stamolamprou shouldered the scoring load for Robert Morris last week and enjoyed a career night in the process. The Greek-born guard, who has scored at least 12 points in each of her past eight games, logged a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds against St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday. Accounting for 26.5 percent of the Colonials’ scoring, Stamolamprou sank three three-pointers during the 56-49 setback. Two days later, the senior tripled her scoring output while helping Robert Morris return to its winning ways against LIU Brooklyn. The 5-foot-9 combo guard poured in a career-high 39 points to go along with nine rebounds, three steals and two assists in a runaway victory. Stamolamprou, who matched RMU single-game records for points and field goals made (15), shot 68 percent from the floor against LIU. After going 6-for-10 from downtown in the win over the Blackbirds, she ranks third overall amongst NEC leaders in three-pointers per game (2.29).
NEC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
KERSTIE PHILLS, WAGNER
G/F, Fr., 5-9, Charlotte, NC/Charlotte Christian
WEEK 9 STATS: 2 games, 13.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 31.0 mpg
Phills maintains her grip on the NEC Rookie of the Week award after scoring in double figures twice last week. The 5-foot-9 freshman averaged 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest as Wagner hosted a pair of conference rivals. Phills victimized Goethals Bridge rival Fairleigh Dickinson to the tune of a game-high 17 points, five rebounds and two assists. She logged a team-high 34 minutes in the 59-53 setback. Two days later, Phills accounted for 10 points and six rebounds against NEC preseason favorite Sacred Heart. The rookie was effective early, scoring eight points as the Seahawks built a 30-21 lead prior to SHU’s furious comeback. Phills has produced double-digit scoring totals in nine of her last 10 games. In NEC play, her 14.8 points per outing lead the team.
TWEET SHEET
@CoachB_RMU
(Jan 10) Strong leadership is always a servanthood. Always put the interests of your team at the center of your decisions.
@CoachWhitMSM
(Jan 9) Every1 will judge u & have an opinion, but always remember the person u need to impress the most is the 1 in the mirror. Don’t let them down
@LIUwbb
(Jan 9) Our thoughts and prayers are with the Northwestern Women’s basketball team and community. Sending strength and love to the Hankins Family.
@CraigCD13
(Jan 9) #NECWBB Stat of the Day: Since 2003, only 6 of the 14 final unbeaten teams have gone on to win that season’s championship @CCSUBlueDevils
@CraigCD13
(Jan 9) 6x the last unbeaten won the title, 2x they lost in the final, & 4x they lost in the SF - including Bryant the last 2yrs #NECWBB
@CoachJoeHaigh
(Jan 9) Also got 6 steals from Harrison. Adams becomes 5th different player to score 20+ in a game this year.
@ExaminerNJ
(Jan 9) I kid you not when I say #SHU took four major charges to change the tempo of this game in the second half. ??
@ExaminerNJ
(Jan 9) Hannah Kimmel is always awesome #SHU pic.twitter.com/Vf9K83ZwRs
@ExaminerNJ
(Jan 9) Kellie Crouch is raining down 3s in this game
@CoachHJacobs
(Jan 8) Failure is not an option. Success is just a process.
@CraigCD13
(Jan 7) Big win for SFBK up at RMU, looking forward to seeing them in the Battle of Brooklyn next Saturday on ESPN3! #NECWBB
@jmnetter33
(Jan 6) I love when someone hacks your twitter & then tweets about Ray-Ban sunglasses. Really? Anyone who knows me knows I’m a Dior sunglasses girl!
FINE LINES (WEEK 9)
The following players earned “NEC Prime Performer status” after accounting for some fine statistical lines...
HALEE ADAMS (SAINT FRANCIS U)
The junior guard shot 61.1 percent last week, helping the Red Flash to back-to-back NEC wins. Adams dropped a career-high 22 points and made five steals in Monday’s triumph over SFBK.
ALEAH EPPS (CENTRAL CONNECTICUT)
The veteran guard’s double-double helped CCSU sink NEC preseason favorite Sacred Heart. Epps logged 12.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per outing for unbeaten CCSU last week.
MARIA PALARINO (ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN)
The sophomore forward continues to produce, averaging 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 56 percent from the floor during the Terriers’ Keystone State swing.
ANNA NIKI STAMOLAMPROU (ROBERT MORRIS)
The 2016 NEC Tournament MVP led the Colonials in scoring last week, including a conference single-game season-high 39 points vs. LIU.
QUOTABLE
JOHN THURSTON (ST. FRANCIS BKLYN), Head Coach
“I told them after the game that I read a quote on Twitter, I don’t tweet but I retweet things that are important. It said ‘on a good team, every single player has a chance to make at least one good play in a game.’ Today, I thought everybody on our team made one big play – everybody really contributed.”
- after pulling out a 56-49 road win over defending NEC champion Robert Morris on Jan. 7
CHARLIE BUSCAGLIA (ROBERT MORRIS), Head Coach
“We played with a lot of accountability to start the game off and played very smart early on. As the game went on, we had a little bit of a lull, but I was very proud of how we came back from that.”
- after the Colonials rolled past LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 9, evening their league record at 2-2
“We dropped our heads too much and didn’t run our plays correctly. Defensively, we needed to pick it up a lot more in the second half. We did okay in the first half, but we have to do a lot better of a job in the second half. Games are going to be won by our effort and passion, and we can’t let one play affect the next.”
- after the Colonials dropped a home game to the SFBK Terriers
PETE CINELLA (Fairleigh Dickinson), Head Coach
“We did a good job in our press defense. We are very happy with the forced turnovers, including 13 steals.”
- after a 59-53 victory over Wagner (Jan. 7) during which the Knights forced 22 turnovers
MILESTONES, FIRSTS, ETC.
SAMANTHA KELTOS (ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN)
The Canadian-born rookie needed only 12 minutes of playing time to log a career-high eight points and seven rebounds against Saint Francis U (Jan. 9).
ANDI LYDON (CCSU)
The sophomore forward poured in a season-high 17 points during the Blue Devils’ 68-58 win over Mount St. Mary’s (Jan. 9), matching the career high she set as a freshman in an overtime victory over St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 30, 2016. Lydon has scored at least 13 points in three of her last five outings.
MASEY ZEGAROWSKI (BRYANT)
The freshman guard netted a season-high 14 points in only 16 minutes of floor time during the Bulldogs’ 56-48 triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 9). Zegarwoski accounted for a hot spurt during the third quarter in Hackensack, hitting three-pointers on back-to-back possessions and adding a lay-up 1:06 later.
ASHLEY CHIN (CCSU)
One of nine different players to score during the Blue Devils’ 67-50 triumph over rival Sacred Heart, the freshman enjoyed a career performance. Chin, who earned her first start in more than one month, went 3-for-3 from the field while scoring in double digits for the first time (10 points).
SAINT FRANCIS U
The NEC’s team leader in steals logged a season-high 20 thefts in a win over St. Francis Brooklyn (Jan. 7). Graduate transfer Ace Harrison led the way with six steals, a number she has reached three times this season.
NO REASON TO BE BLUE, CCSU FANS
The Blue Devils are the last remaining unbeaten in conference play.
Central Connecticut has won its first four NEC games for the second time in 10 seasons under head coach Beryl Piper.
CCSU’s 67-50 victory over Sacred Heart on January 7 marked the Blue Devils’ third-ever 3-0 NEC start under Piper. The two prior seasons (2008-09, 2014-15) concluded with a second-place finish in the conference standings.
During the 2014-15 campaign, Central dropped its fourth game following a 3-0 start to the league schedule and responded by running off eight wins in a row for an 11-1 league record. CCSU went 3-3 down the stretch and its 14-4 mark earned Piper’s team the No. 2 seed in the 2015 NEC Tournament.
The Blue Devils shot out to a 6-0 conference record during the 2008-09 season, which was Piper’s second year at the helm.
One can trace the origins of this year’s 4-0 start back to rebounding and defense.
Through four league games, the Blue Devils are holding opponents to a NEC-low 53.5 points per contest while out-rebounding their rivals by a healthy +10.2 per game margin.
Central has also heated up from downtown since the start of conference play, owning a league-best .413 three-point field goal percentage (in NEC games only).
Piper has lifted CCSU to a higher level of success since taking the reins for the 2007-08 season. The Blue Devils had only once been to the NEC semifinal round prior to Piper’s arrival, but have made it there four times since. Her 2010-11 and 2014-15 teams set the single-season program record for Division I victories (19).
AROUND THE ARC
BRYANT owns the NEC team lead in free throw percentage (.771). The Bulldogs’ league-leading mark has received a boost from freshman Sydney Holloway, who has accounted for a 51-of-57 clip from the charity stripe and paces the circuit in free throw accuracy (.895).
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT has featured three different high scorers in its first four NEC contests. Kiana Patterson has twice held the honor, producing 20-point performances in wins over SFBK (Dec. 31) and Mount (Jan. 9). Aleah Epps led the way with 15 points in the win over SHU (Jan. 7) while rookie Cebria Outlow’s 18 points were a team high in the NEC opener vs. Wagner (Dec. 29). Epps (11.9 ppg) and Patterson (10.4 ppg) are both averaging double figures in scoring this season.
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON snapped its 10-game slide by posting a 59-53 road win over Wagner (Jan. 7). The Knights, who jumped out to a 2-1 season start before skidding, had not tasted a victory since a 66-61 triumph over North Jersey rival NJIT on November 21.
LIU BROOKLYN plays three of its next four games at home in the Steinberg Wellness Center. The lone road contest entails a short trip to the Garden State to face Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 21). Both of the Blackbirds’ victories this season have come in Downtown Brooklyn.
MOUNT ST. MARY’S is still in search of its first road win of the season. Fortunately for the Mountaineers, the team will play its next two games at Knott Arena where it owns a 3-3 record (1-0 NEC).
ROBERT MORRIS has held its opponent under 30 percent shooting on four occasions this season. Most recently, the Colonials, who lead the conference in field goal percentage defense (.375), bottled up LIU Brooklyn on January 9. The Blackbirds managed only 42 points while shooting 19.6 percent from the floor against the stout RMU defense.
SACRED HEART has watched Katherine Haines heat up of late. The 6-foot-2 forward, who missed the 2015-16 campaign due to injury, ranks third overall amongst NEC field goal percentage leaders (.500). Haines, who is averaging 10.4 points per contest, shot 62 percent from the floor last week.
SAINT FRANCIS U paces the circuit in blocked shots (6.7 bpg), assists (15.2 apg) and steals (10.6 spg). Graduate transfer Ace Harrison is averaging a conference-best 2.8 steals per outing while sophomore Courtney Zezza ranks as the NEC’s top shot blocker (2.7 bpg).
ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN ranks second amongst NEC team leaders in three major categories – field goal percentage defense (.390), three-point field goal percentage defense (.300) and free throw percentage (.754).
WAGNER hosts defending NEC champion Robert Morris (Jan. 14) before hitting the road for three straight contests. The Seahawks are coming off a season-high scoring output against Division I opponents, having netted 56 points in the setback to Sacred Heart on January 9.