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Bridgewater, NJ -- Another Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s basketball season is in the books, which means the time has arrived to distribute postseason hardware to the elite athletes in NEC hoops.
The NEC’s record book will be getting some fresh ink at the conclusion of this year’s award season after one player literally stole the show in 2022-23. With the play of a seasoned veteran, Sacred Heart first-year guard
Ny’Ceara Pryor (Baltimore, MD/Western) became just the second freshman in conference history to be named both NEC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in a vote conducted by the league’s head coaches.
But that wasn’t all for the Pioneers’ first-year all-star.
Pryor reached uncharted territory when she was also voted the Defensive Player of the Year. In doing so, she became the first-ever player in conference annals to capture a trio of honors.
St. Francis Brooklyn senior
Alyssa Fisher (Baton Rouge, LA/University Laboratory School) got in on a share of the honors, earning the league’s Most Improved Player award.
After winning 14 of 16 Northeast Conference games, regular season champion FDU claimed the final major individual award when fourth-year head coach
Angelika Szumilo was tabbed the Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year by her peers for the second time in as many years.
The honorees were announced on the afternoon of an action-packed Monday that also features the start of the NEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. The postseason begins with quarterfinal round play held at campus sites.
In addition to bestowing the five aforementioned major awards, the NEC recognized 20 more student-athletes through a trio of All-NEC squads and a five-member All-Rookie team.
One of the most decorated players the circuit has seen in quite some time, Pryor got it done in nearly every facet of the game to become the first player in NEC history to garner both Player and Rookie of the Year honors since Valerie Nainima did so for LIU in 2007.
The first-ever Pioneer to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, Pryor becomes Sacred Heart’s fifth Rookie of the Year honoree and the program’s fourth Player of the Year award recipient. Her name will be inked alongside several former Sacred Heart greats, including 2008 NEC Rookie of the Year and 2009 NEC Player of the Year honoree Alisa Apo, and NEC Hall of Famer Amanda Pape, who was tabbed the league’s top rookie in 2004 before she garnered NEC Player of the Year recognition in 2006.
Wreaking havoc on opposing team’s offenses with her stealthiness and her quickness, Pryor was fearless on offense despite her 5-foot-3 stature. After ending the regular season as the second-leading freshman scorer in the NCAA Division I ranks — and the nation’s 48th-best bucket getter — the Baltimore product closed out the regular season averaging 17.9 ppg. The conference’s top point producer has also manufactured the best scoring clip by an NEC rookie since 2016 NEC Rookie of the Year honoree Jessica Kovatch averaged 20.9 ppg as a frosh for Saint Francis U that season. Pryor established herself as a lethal scorer out of the gates, and she never took the foot off the gas, as she led the circuit with 12, 20+ outings and was the only NEC player to put up double figures in each of her 28 games this season. Making Pryor even more impossible to guard is her knack for finding the open player in the flow of the offense, or on the double team. Dishing out five-or-more dimes 11 times, including a season-best eight-dime performance against St. Francis Brooklyn, she is second in the NEC with 4.2 per contest.
In addition to leading the circuit in scoring and steals, Pryor ranked sixth in rebounding (7.3 rpg), fifth in field goal percentage (.441), sixth in free throw percentage (.683), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and sixth in minutes (33.5 mpg).
Pryor has grown accustomed to being in the spotlight, as her 13 NEC Rookie of the Week awards tied Kovatch for the conference record. She also tacked on two NEC Player of the Week nods to her impressive rookie resumé to close out her first year with 15 weekly awards.
Pryor used her tenacity on defense to produce a multitude of highlight-reel worthy buckets day in and day out and become the first Pio to be recognized as the top defender in the conference. The rookie vaulted to the top of the NCAA individual rankings after opening her college career with respective five, seven and five-steal efforts against Hartford, La Salle and Monmouth. She quickly proved that those performances were no fluke. Delivering 10 more games with five-or-more steals — including an eight-theft outing against Saint Francis U that continues to rank among the best single-game performances in the nation — Pryor concluded the regular season as the nation’s leader in steals per game (4.07). In addition, she has already broken the NEC freshman record in the category with 114 swipes, the second-most in NCAA Division I.
Fisher emerged on the scene as one of the most feared guards in the circuit in 2022-23. Eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau last month, the Louisiana product nearly doubled her point production from 8.5 ppg a year ago to 16.6 ppg this season, a figure that ranks her third in the in the NEC. Fisher’s play was even more impressive during league play, averaging 17.9 ppg to finish tied for second in the rankings. During that stretch, she shot 37.9 percent from the field and was fifth in three-point field goals (1.7 per game). The 5-foot-7 righty scored in twin figures 21 times, and with nine 20+ point outings, she was the only player in the NEC to put up multiple 30-point performances after dropping 30 against Lafayette (Dec. 21) and 30 against league foe Wagner (Feb. 9). Fisher, who also earned first team plaudits, is St. Francis Brooklyn’s first-ever Most Improved Player honoree.
Year four of the Szumilo Era was another one for the books, and it isn’t over yet. The bar was raised high last year after the Knights’ skipper won 19 games and piloted her team to the program’s first regular season crown since 1992-93. Making it back-to-back league championships for the first time in FDU history this season, Szumilo has quickly established a winning culture in her short time in Hackensack. With a pair of defeats to second-place Sacred Heart being the only blemishes to a near perfect league resumé, the Knights ran the show in the NEC, going 14-2 for the second-best conference winning percentage in program lore. In addition, Szumilo and her Knights won a program-record 22 regular-season contests, and they did so in dominant fashion with an average margin victory of 20.2 ppg, including an 18.9 spread in NEC wins. Since Szumilo took the helm in 2019-20, FDU has posted top four finishes each season, a complete one-eighty from a squad that finished in the bottom half of the NEC standings in 11 straight years before her arrival. With home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, a potent and well-balanced offense that leads the circuit (69.4 ppg), and a suffocating defense that ranks sixth in the nation (51.3 ppg), the top-seeded Knights are primed to end the program’s 31-year NEC Championship drought in their own house. Szumilo is the first FDU coach to garner multiple NEC Coach of the Year accolades.
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
The All-Northeast Conference teams sees only two veteran returnees in FDU forward
Chloe Wilson (Freeport, NY/South Shore) and Wagner guard
Zhaneia Thybulle (Elmont, NY/Elmont Memorial (UNC Wilmington)).
Wilson upgraded last season’s third team honor for a spot on this year’s first team. The All-NEC Preseason pick lived up to her expectations and left little void in the FDU frontcourt after the graduation of 2022 NEC Player of the Year Madison Stanley.Wilson quickly established herself as one of the most dangerous forwards in the circuit this season. Lethal in the post with finesse under the rim and her ability to capitalize with her back to the basket, the Freeport, NY native became even more impossible to guard after adding an efficient mid-range jumper to her repertoire. Wilson, who knocked down 12 three-pointers, averaged 16.7 ppg this season, up from her 12.1 ppg average in 2021-22. She is second in the circuit in scoring, but ended the regular season on an absolute tear with four 20+ point outings and four double-doubles over the final eight games. During that stretch, Wilson averaged 19.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Her eight double-doubles were tied for the league lead.
With the exception of Wilson, the All-NEC first team is littered with guards, including NEC triple crown winner Pryor and Fisher, the Most Improved Player.
Fifth-year guard and 1,000-point scorer
Emily Bramanti (Chelmsford, MA/Westford Academy) made Stonehill history by becoming the first-ever Skyhawk to receive All-NEC distinction. The sharpshooter did some serious damage from long range to finish the season ranked fourth in the loop in scoring with 14.9 ppg. Averaging 2.4 makes from long range, Bramanti’s league-leading 69 three-pointers are the most in a season by an NEC player since 2019-20.
Merrimack, which landed a program-best three All-NEC selections, got in on the first team action with the selection of senior
Jayme DeCesare (Johnson, RI/La Salle Academy). Averaging a career-high 10.6 ppg, the guard led the Warriors and was ranked in the league’s top five in assists per game (3.3), steals per game (1.4) and three-point field goals per game (1.9).
Five first timers comprised the All-NEC second team in 2022-23.
FDU senior
Sierra DeAngelo (Pittsburgh, PA/Oakland Catholic) and Saint Francis U junior
Aaliyah Moore (Milwaukee, WI/West Bend West) were the lone forwards on this year’s All-NEC second team. DeAngelo enjoyed a breakout year for the first-place Knights after she more than doubled her scoring average from 5.0 ppg in 2021-22 to 12.8 ppg in 2022-23. The league’s most efficient shooter at 49.3 percent, the 6-foot-0 forward was also a consistent threat from behind the arc, knocking down 31 three-pointers behind a 36.0 percent clip. Moore was a beast on the boards for the Red Flash and in the process, she nearly averaged a double-double on the season with 10.3 points and a league-high 9.8 rebounds per game. The Wisconsin native was a double-double machine, finishing with eight to tie Wilson for first in the conference in the category.
Graduate student
Sajada Bonner (Cliffwood, NJ/St. John Vianney (Quinnipiac)) provided a huge spark for Sacred Heart, which doubled its conference win total in 2022-23. The transfer from Quinnipiac scored in double figures 17 times and finished second amongst Pioneers in scoring with 11.1 ppg. Bonner, who delivered one of the NEC’s hottest performances of the season from long range after burying 6-of-6 triples against St. Francis Brooklyn (Jan. 14), ranked third in the loop with 50 three-pointers and 2.0 per contest.
CCSU’s
Belle Lanpher (Princeton, MA/Wachusett Regional) emerged on the scene as one of the top-scoring guards in the circuit. Finishing among the league’s top-10 in scoring (13.5 ppg), she strung together two of the best consecutive performances in the NEC this season, racking up a career-high 30 points against St. Francis Brooklyn (Feb. 2) before pouring in 28 points her next time out in an upset of then first-place Sacred Heart (Feb. 6).
Rounding out the All-NEC second team was Wagner guard
Alex Cowan (Bowie, MD/St. John’s College HS). Putting up a career-best 14.0 points per night to rank fifth among the league’s elite scorers, the redshirt-junior proved to be the one of the NEC’s top three-point shooters as well with 1.6 makes per game. Cowan compiled 20+ points on five occasions and finished the regular season with 20 double-figure scoring games.
Redshirt-senior
Marissa Hamilton (Great Valley, NY/Ellicottville Central (Buffalo)) and veteran
Kaylee Thomas (North Chelmsford, MA/Central Catholic) each landed spots on the All-NEC third team to push Merrimack’s award total to three, a program-best since joining the NEC in 2019-20. Hamilton missed six conference games with an injury, but it’s no coincidence that the Warriors have won nine of their past 10 games since her return on Feb. 2. The 6-foot-0 big drilled 26 three-pointers and led Merrimack’s offense with 13.6 ppg, which is good for the sixth-best scoring average in the conference. Thomas (11.2 ppg) enjoyed a hot second half of her senior campaign. Averaging 6.1 ppg over her first 11 contests, the 5-foot-9 guard scored in double figures in all but one of her final 13 appearances and averaged 15.5 ppg during that stretch.
St. Francis Brooklyn guard
Tyra Myers (Columbia, SC/Hammond School) made her name known on the NEC circuit down the stretch. Earning two of her three NEC Rookie of the Week honors over the final four weeks of the regular season, she averaged 18.0 ppg in the final games of the campaign. Myers scored in double figures 14 times as a rookie to rank second on the team and 11th in the circuit with 11.6 ppg.
Thybulle claimed the NEC’s statistical crown in assists for the second straight season en route to earning back-to-back third team distinction. One of two Seahawks to average double figures with a career-best 10.8 ppg, the 5-foot-6 guard dropped 5-or-more helpers 10 times this season to average 4.2 dimes per contest. The Elmont, NY native was responsible for the only triple-double in the circuit this season — and just the third in Wagner program history — after she stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 10 boards and 10 dimes against LIU on Feb. 10.
LIU’s lone All-NEC honoree came by way of
Ashley Austin (Compton, CA/Lynwood (Texas Southern)). The junior guard, who landed in Brooklyn by way of Texas Southern, has hit her stride since working her way back into LIU’s starting rotation against Sacred Heart on Jan. 26. Dropping a then career-high 23 points against the Pios, Austin followed that outing with a 25-point performance against St. Francis Brooklyn two days later. The Sharks’ top scorer in league play (13.7 ppg) has propelled LIU to wins in four of its final five games after combining for 96 points (19.0 ppg) in that stretch.
The future is bright for Sacred Heart, as a pair of first-year players landed spots on the NEC All-Rookie Team. Joining Pryor on the squad is guard
Amelia Wood (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park). Standing at 6-foot-0, the Wynantskill, NY native contributed 7.3 points and ranked second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per contest.
With Pryor and Wood’s selections, Sacred Heart has had at least one All-Rookie team honoree in each of the past four seasons.
Myers produced one of the finest offensive outings by an NEC freshman this season after netting 30 points at Wagner on Feb. 9. She is the fourth Terrier to earn All-Rookie team plaudits in the past five seasons.
Rounding out the All-Rookie Team honorees was CCSU forward/center
Lara Rohkohl (Hannover, Germany, IGS Roderbruch) and Saint Francis U guard
Semaya Turner (Rockaway, NY/Morris Hills). Nearly averaging a double-double during league play with 8.9 points and a team-best 8.4 boards, Rohkohl led the circuit in blocks per game (1.5 per game) and was second in field goal percentage (.488). Turner closed out the regular season on a tear, netting double figures in four of her final five games to boost her scoring average from 6.1 to 8.0 ppg.
2022-23 Northeast Conference Women’s Basketball Award Winners
Player of the Year
Ny’Ceara Pryor Sacred Heart G 5-3 Fr. Baltimore, MD/Western
Rookie of the Year
Ny’Ceara Pryor Sacred Heart G 5-3 Fr. Baltimore, MD/Western
Defensive Player of the Year
Ny’Ceara Pryor Sacred Heart G 5-3 Fr. Baltimore, MD/Western
Most Improved Player
Alyssa Fisher St. Francis Brooklyn G 5-7 Sr. Baton Rouge, LA/University Laboratory School
Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year
Angelika Szumilo FDU