NEC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chloe Wilson, FDU
Jr., Forward, 5-10, Freeport, NY/South Shore
Wilson helped FDU push its league-best non-conference record to 5-2 after leading the Knights to a 3-1 mark last week. The junior forward averaged 17.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game during that stretch, which featured victories over UIC, Davidson and UMES. Wilson was a handful for the Flames, going 6-of-10 from the floor while cashing in on 14-of-16 free throws. The Preseason All-NEC honoree finished the game with 26 points — the most for an NEC player in a game this season — and added seven boards and three steals in the win. Tallying an 18-point effort against Austin Peay on Tuesday, Wilson closed out the three-day tournament with her first double-double of the season (14 points, 10 rebounds) against Davidson. The Freeport, NY native went on to net double figures for the sixth straight game after tallying 10 points in 23 minutes in FDU’s 82-41 win over UMES on Sunday. This is her second NEC Player of the Week honor in as many weeks.
NEC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Ny’Ceara Pryor, Sacred Heart
Fr., Guard, 5-3, Baltimore, MD/Western
Pryor has consistently been one of the most dominant rookies, and guards, in the league, and this past week was no exception. The first-year player did a little bit of everything in each of the Pioneers’ two games, averaging 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 3.5 assists in 36.5 minutes per contest. Pryor got her week going with a 10-point, 10-rebound effort on Friday against Butler. It marked the freshman’s second double-double of the season, which ranks her second in the circuit behind LIU graduate student Iris Mbulito (3). Adding five steals against the Bulldogs, she has registered five-or-more thefts in four of seven games. One day later, Pryor dropped her second 20-point outing of the campaign at FAU after coming one point shy of her career high with 23. The Baltimore, MD leads Sacred Heart in nearly every statistical category, including scoring (15.3 ppg), rebounding (6.4 rpg), assists (23), field goal percentage (42.0%) and minutes per game (32.4). In addition, her team-best 30 steals are tops in the nation, while her 4.3 thefts per contest rank her second in NCAA Division I. Pryor has swept all three NEC Rookie of the Week honors this season.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Dejah Jenkins, CCSU (Jr., G)
Jenkins had an efficient game against Saint Peter’s last Wednesday, racking up 18 points in 26 minutes of action on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and a 2-for-4 clip from behind the arc. The junior guard added eight rebounds in the victory, which was the Blue Devils’ first of the season.
Forever Toppin, CCSU (Sr., G)
Toppin delivered a solid all-around performance in Central Connecticut’s first win of the season against Saint Peter’s on Wednesday. One of four Blue Devils to net double figures with 14 points, the senior guard added a season-high six assists and four steals. Three of Toppin’s four makes from the floor were from downtown, where she finished 50.0 percent on the afternoon.
Chloe Wilson, FDU (Jr., F)
Wilson averaged 17.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals to lead FDU to a 3-1 mark with wins over UIC, Davidson and UMES during that stretch. Also named the NEC Player of the Week for the second straight week, the junior forward netted double figures in all four games to extend her double-digit scoring streak to six contests.
Marissa Hamilton, MC (R-Sr., F)
Hamilton strung together a pair of big outings for Merrimack to close out the week averaging 20.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 28.0 minutes per game. Scoring 17 points against Harvard, the redshirt senior forward upped her career high from 20 to 24 points against Colgate, adding a season-best eight rebounds in the victory.
Ny’Ceara Pryor, SHU (Fr., G)
Pryor had another dominant week for the Pioneers, averaging 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 3.5 assists in 36.5 minutes per game. The three-time NEC Rookie of the Week put together her second double-double of the season against Butler after tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds while adding five steals and three dimes. Against FAU, the freshman guard shot 45.0 percent from the field (9-for-20) to finish with her second 20-point game of the season (23 points).
Sophie Glidden, STO (Gr., F)
Glidden averaged 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game to lead Stonehill in a three-game stretch that included the program’s first win as a Division I program. The fifth-year forward compiled her first double-double of the season in a victory over Hartford, going 7-of-11 from the field for 14 points and 10 rebounds. Stuffing the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds and three dimes in a defeat to Vermont, Glidden went 7-of-10 from the field to lead the Skyhawks with 19 points against Oakland.
Alex Cowan, WC (R-Jr., G)
Cowan went 6-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three, and added a 9-of-10 effort from the free-throw line to propel Wagner to a 76-68 win over Hofstra on Sunday. The redshirt junior led all scorers with a career-high 25 points, the most for a Wagner player this season and the second-highest offensive output in the circuit this season. Over half of her points (14) came in a decisive and dominant fourth quarter that saw the Seahawks outscore the Pride by a 29-16 margin. A guard, Cowan added three assists and a pair of steals in the victory.
Zhaneia Thybulle, WC (Gr., G)
Thybulle contributed nine points and eight assists to Wagner’s 76-68 home win against Hofstra on Sunday. The graduate student’s eight helpers are the most by an NEC player in a single game this season.
TOP STORYLINES FROM #NECWBB WEEK 3
Here’s all you need to know from the third week of the 2022-23 season...
> OFF TO THE RACES
FDU won three of four games during week three of the 2022-23 campaign to jump to the top of the league standings with a 5-2 overall record. The Knights’ record through their first seven games marks the program’s best start since 2017-18, when they also won five of their first seven contests. That stretch included a win over Division III member Rutgers-Newark.
The Knights had a strong showing at the Hostilo Community Classic, going 2-1 with wins over UIC and Davidson and a defeat to Austin Peay. FDU capped off the weekend by doubling up UMES on Sunday with an 82-41 victory. It 41-point spread marked the Knights’ largest margin of victory since defeating Rutgers-Newark, 97-51, on Nov. 6, 2018, and the largest against a Division I opponent since Jan. 24, 2004, when it scored a 90-48 decision over league foe CCSU.
FDU’s only other loss came at Big East foe Marquette in the team’s season opener.
> HOME COOKING
The confines of the Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ continues to provide the Knights with one of the best home-court advantages in the league.
Defeating UMES by an 82-41 final on Sunday, FDU improved to 2-0 at home, having previously taken down Cornell (62-51) in non-league action on Nov. 12.
With the 2-0 start inside Rothman in 2022-23, the Knights have now won each of their past 10 home regular season games. Their impressive home winning streak — which has stretched over 334 days — dates back to a 65-47 victory over Mount St. Mary’s on Dec. 29, 2021.
> FIRST DI WIN IN THE BOOKS
Stonehill dominated from wire-to-wire and took down Hartford in commanding fashion after scoring a 62-32 home victory last Monday (Nov. 21). The victory marked Stonehill’s first of the season, and its first since transitioning to Division I and joining the NEC for the 2022-23 campaign.
Three Skyhawks scored in double figures in the victory, led by graduate student Sophie Glidden (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough). The guard registered her first double-double of the season after scoring a game-high 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field and pulling down 10 rebounds.
> DEE-FENCE
FDU’s defense has been one of the stingiest in the nation this season. Conceding just 51.9 points per game to their opponents, the Knights are currently ranked 18th in the nation in the category.
The Knights have held all but one of their opponents to 53 points or fewer this season. Marquette is the only team to surpass that mark, scoring 75 points in the season opener on Nov. 7. Most impressively, FDU, which has held three of seven opponents to 50 points or fewer, is conceding just 47.0 points per game in its five victories this season.
> EARLY DOMINANCE
Sacred Heart first-year guard Ny’Ceara Pryor (Baltimore, MD/Western) is already making a name for herself in the NEC women’s basketball circuit.
The Baltimore native has earned NEC Rookie of the Week distinction in each of the first three weeks of the season. She was impressive in her first three games as a Pio, putting up double figures in each contest to average 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a whopping 5.7 assists in 29.7 minutes per game.
Pryor proved that her opening-week performances were not a fluke. In weeks two and three, she was just as spectacular.
In the past two weeks, the guard has scored in double figures in each of Sacred Heart’s four games. Included in that stretch are a pair of double-doubles against Brown (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Butler (10 points, 10 rebounds), as well as a pair of 20-point performances against Iona (career-high 24 points) and FAU (23 points).
Pryor, who leads Sacred Heart in nearly every statistical category, has her named peppered throughout the league’s top-10 as well. She is third in scoring (15.3 ppg), sixth in rebounding (6.4 rpg), second in field goal percentage (.420), fouth in assists (3.3 apg) and first in steals (4.3 spg).
> STEALING THE NATION’S STATS
Sacred Heart first-year guard Ny’Ceara Pryor (Baltimore, MD/Western) been one of the league’s most consistent and dominant performers in the early part of her college career. Pryor has done a little of everything in her first five games as a Pio, averaging 15.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. But where she really has made her presence known is on the defensive end of the court.
The 5-foot-3 guard has wreaked havoc on the opposition’s guards. Registering five-or-more thefts in each of her first three games —including seven in Sacred Heart’s defeat to La Salle earlier this season — she has racked up 30 steals to rank first in the nation in the category. In addition, Pryor’s 4.3 swipes-per-game average is good for second in NCAA Division I.
> GOING STREAKING
FDU junior forward Chloe Wilson (Freeport, NY/South Shore) is quickly establishing herself as one of the top bigs in the league. The Preseason All-NEC selection is averaging 15.0 points per game, which is up from her 12.1 scoring average in 2021-22.
Wilson has been on a roll as of late. Since opening the season with a nine-point effort against Marquette (Nov. 7), she has rattled off double figures in scoring in each of her past six outings. Included in that stretch is a career-high 26-point game against UIC, which marks the most points registered in a game by an NEC player this season.
The 26-point effort also bested her previous career high of 16 points, which she matched earlier this season at Bucknell (Nov. 16).
A key factor to Wilson’s success this season has been her ability to get to the free-throw line. The junior has already made 57 trips to the stripe in just seven games (8.1 per game), in comparison to the 124 trips she made in 2021-22 (4.8). The only player in the league with 50-plus free-throw attempts, Wilson has been efficient as well, going 43-of-57 for a 75.4 percent clip.
Wilson enters the week ranked third in the nation in free-throw attempts, and fourth in makes.
> HALF A CENTURY FOR FDU COACH SZUMILO
FDU head coach Angelika Szumilo hit a major career milestone this month when her Knights defeated Bucknell, 62-49, on Nov. 16. The victory marked the 50th of the fourth-year head coach’s career.
It took Szumilo just 88 games at the helm of the Knights to hit the mark, which includes an abbreivated 24-game slate in 2020-21. With five wins in seven games this season, she owns a career coaching record of 53-39, good for a .576 winning percentage.
Szumilo has piloted the Knights to double-digit win totals in each of her three seasons at the helm, including a program-record 19 victories last year in 2021-22.