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Somerset, NJ - Kendall Bresee’s across-the-board contributions to Mount St. Mary’s first-place regular season finish resulted in a pair of major Northeast Conference women’s basketball individual honors.

Bresee won a vote of the conference’s head coaches to capture both the NEC Player of the Year and NEC Defensive Player of the Year awards. It is the second straight year that both honors belong to the same person as Bresee matched a feat achieved by Merrimack alumna Denia Davis-Stewart last March.

The woman who brought Bresee to Emmitsburg joined her star player as a major award winner. Maria Marchesano became the first Mountie since 1999 to secure the Brenda Reilly NEC Coach of the Year award.

St. Francis Brooklyn has produced the NEC Rookie of the Year for the second straight season. Twelve months after point guard Nevena Dimitrijevic claimed the accolade, freshman forward Fruzsina Horvath keeps it in Brooklyn Heights.

Junior guard Forever Toppin became Central Connecticut’s first-ever recipient of the NEC Most Improved Player award, which was instituted in 2015.

The five major award recipients were unveiled, along with three All-Northeast Conference Teams and an all-rookie squad, via Twitter two days prior to the NEC Tournament semifinal round.

When it comes to the NEC individual statistical leader board, the name Bresee appears almost everywhere. The do-it-all small forward ranks amongst the conference’s top-four leaders in scoring average (fourth), rebounding (second), assists (fourth), steals (second), and double-doubles (t-first). She also ranks sixth overall in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2). While her 2.1 steals per game average ranks second, Bresee’s 45 total thefts are the most of any player in the NEC. She paces the circuit in defense rebounding average (6.9) as well. Bresee’s 14.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per appearance are all team-high averages.

After earning a spot on the 2020 All-NEC Third Team, Bresee erupted during her second season in Emmitsburg after transferring from George Washington. The Maryland product recorded nine double-doubles in 18 conference contests and led the Mount in scoring during seven of the season’s first 10 games. Bresee became the Mount’s first NEC Player of the Year honoree since Kia Williams in 2001.

Marchesano has steadily built Mount into a title contender during her four seasons in Emmitsburg. After a second-place finish last season, the Mount made the next step in its progression and captured the program’s first NEC regular season crown since 2001. Winning 14 of 18 conference contests for the second year in a row, Marchesano’s Mountaineers paced the circuit in a number of team statistical categories – scoring offense, scoring margin, rebounding margin, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and assist-to-turnover ratio.

Toppin, who became a full-time starter during her third season in New Britain, stepped up to take the reins as Central Connecticut’s leading scorer. Increasing her scoring average by 163 percent from one year ago, the Garden State product accounted for 12.1 points per game during the 2020-21 campaign.

Horvath powered into the NEC Top 10 as a scorer and rebounder. Her 12.6 points per game are ninth on the circuit and her 6.4 caroms per contest are tenth best. The first-year Terrier recorded double-digit point totals in 11 of 14 games this season. Horvath worked her way into the starting lineup midway through the season and proceeded to increase her production. She scored at least 17 points in each of her last four appearances, highlighted by a 21-point effort in a win over Fairleigh Dickinson. The Hungarian-born forward carried the load for the Terriers with back-to-back double-doubles in a two-game set with Saint Francis U.
 

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— Northeast Conference (@NECsports) March 8, 2021

MORE NEC-TOIDS
> Each of the four NEC semifinalists placed a representative on the All-NEC First Team – Mount St. Mary’s (Kendall Bresee), Wagner (Emilija Krista Grava), Saint Francis U (Karson Swogger), Fairleigh Dickinson (Madison Stanley).

> Bryant senior center Brooke Bjelko is the lone First Teamer who will not compete in the 2021 postseason. Krista Grava is the lone repeat All-NEC First Team selection, having earned the honor initially in 2020. Swogger moved up from the 2020 All-NEC Third Team into the Top 5 as a senior.

> Sacred Heart senior guard Adrianne Hagood earned All-NEC Second Team recognition for the second year in a row.

> Merrimack senior forward Mayson Kimball, who missed the 2019-20 campaign due to injury, landed on the All-NEC Second Team while Warriors’ sharp-shooter Kate Mager made her second straight appearance on the Third Team.

> Two 2020 NEC All-Rookie selections earned all-conference recognition as sophomores. St. Francis Brooklyn point guard Nevena Dimitrijevic earned All-NEC Third Team accolades. Meanwhile, Fairleigh Dickinson forward Maria Roters jumped up to the Second Team.

> Fairleigh Dickinson placed multiple freshmen on the NEC All-Rookie Team thanks to forward Chloe Wilson and guard Devyn Scott.