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Bridgewater, NJ -- With another stellar season of Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s basketball in the books and the anticipation of a thrilling postseason tournament on the horizon, the best-of-the-best and the most elite ballers in the league were recognized on Monday with the announcement of the league’s major award winners and All-NEC teams.
Front and center among the league’s honorees stood a remarkably talented sophomore guard and the driving force behind the NEC’s regular season champions.
Sacred Heart sophomore
Ny’Ceara Pryor (Baltimore, MD/Western), the most-feared guard in the NEC, walked away with the league’s Player of the Year honor for the second consecutive year.
This year’s top freshman resides in Loretto, as shifty bucket-getter
Kendall Carruthers (Holland, OH/Springfield) hauled in every possible vote to earn NEC Rookie of the Year distinction. It marked the second consecutive season that the annual vote of the conference’s head coaches yielded an unanimous pick for the league’s most outstanding rookie.
Le Moyne guard and conference newcomer
Lytoya Baker (Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearny) won a tightly contested vote for NEC Defensive Player of the Year, while FDU senior guard and three-point specialist
Abby Conklin (Irvington, NY/Irvington) is the NEC Most Improved Player after she enjoyed one of the biggest scoring jumps in the NEC this season.
All three standouts also added All-NEC distinction to the resumés, with Baker, Carruthers and Pryor garnering first team honors and Conklin taking home second team accolades.
Even more kudos headed Le Moyne’s way. After leading the Dolphins to a second-place regular season finish in their first season as an NEC and reclassifying Division I member,
Mary Grimes was voted as the Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year by her peers.
The honorees were announced on the afternoon of the 2024 NEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, which begins at campus sites with quarterfinal round play on Monday evening.
Pryor, who basked in a record-breaking 10 NEC Player of the Week awards, claimed her second-straight NEC Player of the Year award, joining Mount St. Mary’s Vanessa Blair (1991, 1992) and Susie Rowlyk (1994, 1995), Robert Morris’ Artemis Spanou (2013, 2014) and Saint Francis U’s Jess Kovatch (2018, 2019) as the only players in league history to win Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
One year removed from making history as the NEC’s first-ever triple crown winner, Pryor unsurprisingly found a way to ink her name in the league’s recordbooks once again. This season, she becomes the youngest player in NEC annals to have two Player of the Year titles to her name.
Pryor led the league this year with an 18.5 point-per-game scoring average, which is the highest scoring clip by an NEC player since Kovatch and St. Francis Brooklyn’s Jade Johnson led all players with 19.9 points per game in 2018-19. The speedy guard with a lethal first step and the ability to score at all levels reached 1,000 points in just her 57th game in a Pios uniform against Central Connecticut on Feb. 9 to become the third-fastest player in NEC lore to reach the prestigious career milestone. Pryor, who put up a league-leading 20-plus points 14 times this season, also finished fifth in the league in rebounds (7.2) and was second in field goal percentage (.471), first in assists (4.6 apg), first in steals (3.2) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.24). The only other player in NCAA Division I to have a comparable stat line is freshman Hannah Hidalgo, who is averaging 23.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.7 steals per game for Notre Dame.
Pryor put any doubts of a Player of the Year repeat to bed in the final stretch of the season, averaging 20.9 points 8.0 rebounds in the last nine games of the season to help a red-hot Sacred Heart squad earn the NEC regular season crown and the top seed in the NEC Tournament.
In a year that featured a slew of impressive rookie performances throughout the conference, Carruthers quickly differentiated herself from the pack in her debut campaign for the Red Flash. Immediately stepping into a leadership role for a youth-driven Saint Francis U squad that regularly worked four underclassmen into the starting rotation, the southpaw exploded onto the scene with a tremendous 19-point effort at Big 10 foe Rutgers four games into her career and she never took her foot off the pedal from there, putting up double figures 18 more times. Carruthers is the only rookie — and just one of two players in the circuit — to twice reach the 30-point plateau after going off for 30 at LIU on Jan. 19 and a career-high 32 against Wagner on Feb. 15. The Buckeye State product leads all NEC freshmen and is fourth overall in scoring with 14.1 ppg. Carruthers is the seventh player in program history — and the first since Caitlyn Kroll in 2018 — to don the NEC Rookie of the Year crown, joining the likes of Red Flash legends and soon-to-be NEC Player of the Year honorees Mary Markey, Jess Zinobile, Beth Swink and Jess Kovatch. Pulling in a league-leading six NEC Rookie of the Week awards during the regular season while landing All-Rookie team distinction, Carruthers added more feathers to her cap as she became the second freshman in as many years to claim one of five spots on the All-NEC first team.
A regular guest on the weekly NEC9 highlight reel with mouthwatering plays on both ends of the court, Baker made an incredibly seamless jump to the Division I level to become the first-ever Le Moyne player to win a major award. The Rochester, NY native was a machine on the boards and as a result, she nearly averaged a double-double after leading the circuit with 8.6 rebounds per game while ranking fifth in scoring at 13.9 points per game. Baker, who was also second in blocks per game (0.97) and eighth in swipes per contest (1.59), produced a league-leading 12 double-doubles, seven of which came against conference foes. Most impressively, she proved right out of the gates that she can hang with the big dogs and did not shy away from big-time competition. Beginning her Division I career with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort at Colorado State, Baker also charted double-doubles against the likes of Richmond (14 points, 10 rebounds), VCU (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Pittsburgh (13 points, 11 rebounds).
Baker’s dominance on defense has been a staple of her collegiate career. Last season, she was recognized as the Northeast 10’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Conklin emerged from a strong contingent of candidates for Most Improved Player honors after she developed into a full-fledged offensive threat for the Knights. A reserve guard who totaled 713 minutes — an average of 11.5 per game — through her first three seasons, she made up for the lost time and played nearly all the minutes this year. Conklin averaged the seventh-most minutes in the nation (37.4 per game) in 2023-24, but that wasn’t all that increased. She nearly tripled last year’s scoring average, going from 3.4 ppg in 2022-23 to 10.2 ppg in 2023-24. In addition, the sharp-shooting three-point specialist enters the postseason with more makes than any other NEC competitor (73), while her 2.36 treys per contest are also a league-best mark. Conklin put up double figures in scoring 13 times and has helped FDU to a flurry of late-season wins that locked up the No. 3 seed and the right to host an NEC quarterfinal game for the fourth straight season. Down the stretch, she knocked down three-or-more triples and netted twin figures in six of the Knights’ final nine games to lead FDU to a 7-2 record in that pivotal regular season-ending stretch. Conklin is the second Knight to take home the NEC Most Improved Player award, joining Rachel Niles, who was honored with the distinction in 2019-20.
Under Grimes, the Dolphins defied preseason expectations, where they were picked to finish second-to-last in the annual preseason poll. Le Moyne began conference play with four-straight wins and finished 14-2 to earn the No. 2 seed and a quarterfinal home game in the NEC Tournament. It was the best showing by an NEC newcomer since Mount St. Mary’s went 14-2 in their inaugural season back in 1990. Defense was the name for Grimes’ Dolphins all season long, which is evident by one look at the league’s statistical rankings. Just two conference competitors broke the 60-point plateau against the Upstate New York squad, while a league-leading four of the top-15 spots on the NEC’s steals chart are occupied by the Dolphins.
In three years at the helm of the Dolphins, Grimes has now taken home two conference Coach of the Year awards.
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
This year’s All-NEC list features six repeat honorees, five underclassmen and four newcomers to the league.
Highlighting the star-studded teams with a triple threat of three All-NEC guards — including a pair of repeat offenders — is NEC regular season champion Sacred Heart. CCSU, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU and Merrimack each had two student-athletes earn the distinction.
Pryor made it back-to-back All-NEC first team honors, while fellow backcourt member and graduate student
Sajada Bonner (Cliffwood, NJ/St. John Vianney (Quinnipiac)) added third team honors to her second team selection from a year ago. Sacred Heart sophomore guard
Amelia Wood (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) made the jump from NEC All-Rookie team to second team all-star for the Pios to round out Sacred Heart’s trio of winners. Wood is second on a potent Pioneers squad that leads the NEC in scoring with 10.5 points per night, while Bonner contributes 9.0 points per game to Sacred Heart’s balanced attack.
The second team is littered with a trio of student-athletes who have hauled in multiple All-NEC awards in their careers.
LIU senior guard
Ashley Austin (Compton, CA/Lynwood (Southern Texas)) upgraded her status from third team in 2023 to second team in 2024. The Compton native established herself as one of the league’s most dangerous guards in her debut season in Brooklyn a year ago, and she has done nothing but elevate her game since. This season, Austin is netting a career-high 15.1 points per game to rank third in the loop, while her 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game are also good for third. For the first time since 2018-19, LIU landed two all-conference picks. After nearly doubling her scoring average from 6.5 points per game in 2022-23 to 12.4 points per game this season (t-6th in NEC), sophomore
Mariah Elohim (Westlake Village, CA/Westlake) joined her fellow backcourt mate on the All-NEC second team.
Central Connecticut senior guard
Belle Lanpher (Princeton, MA/Wachusett Regional) is a member of the second team for the second-straight season. The silky smooth shooter is putting up 12.4 points per game, which is tied for sixth-most in the circuit. The Blue Devils produced multiple All-NEC honorees for the first time in a decade with sophomore sensation and East Carolina transfer
Samora Watson’s (League City, TX/Clear Falls) named to the league’s first team. Turning heads with a dangerous mid-range game, Watson, who is the first Blue Devil to average at least 15.0 points per game since 2015-16, is second in the conference with 17.3 points per game. She is just one of two players in the nation to have three-or-more 35+ point games to her name this season, joining Iowa senior Caitlin Clark, who has accomplished the feat 13 times this season.
No other teammates in the conference are putting more points on the scoreboard than Watson and Lanpher, as the league’s highest scoring backcourt tandem has accounted for nearly half of the Blue Devils’ offense this season.
FDU’s
Teneisia Brown (Montego Bay, Jamaica/Mount Vernon/St. Andrew’s (Merrimack)) is a newcomer to the All-NEC first team. The 6-foot-2 forward/center shredded opponents’ defense apart and wreaked havoc on the boards in her return to the NEC. The Jamaica-born hooper extended her double-digit scoring streak to seven games and closed out the regular season in style by registering a double-double for the 10th time this season last week at Central Connecticut. Her torrid play in the final 10 games of the year — a stretch that saw her average 14.4 points and 9.5 boards per night — helped FDU lock up a top-four seed for the fifth consecutive season with a 7-3 record.
Brown ranks eighth in the league in scoring with 12.0 points per game this season, while her 7.7 boards per game are tied for second. During league play, however, she nearly averaged a double-double on 13.4 points and a league-high 9.4 caroms per contest. She is the fourth FDU post player to garner All-NEC first team distinction in as many years, joining Chloe Wilson (2022-23) and two-time honoree Madison Stanley (2020-21, 2021-22).
Two all-star guards that have made a name for themselves during their time in North Andover, MA also make the All-NEC cut for a second consecutive season.
Jayme DeCesare (Johnston, RI/La Salle Academy) inked her name into Merrimack’s recordbook earlier in the season as the first player to join the elite 1,000-Point Club in the program’s Division I era. Averaging a career-high 10.9 points per game to rank 11th in the loop, she is also listed amongst the league’s top-10 in assists (2.9 per game – 7th) and three-point field goals (1.4 per game – 9th). DeCesare is currently the NEC’s active career leader in a plethora of categories, including scoring (1,221 points), rebounds (537), assists (433) and steals (138).
Despite missing the entire non-conference slate with an injury, senior
Kaylee Thomas’ (North Chelmsford, MA/Central Catholic) contributions to a Warriors’ offense that ranked second in the conference in NEC play (64.3 ppg) did not go unnoticed. Going winless in its first three league games, Merrimack saw a tremendous turnaround with the addition of Thomas to the starting five against CCSU on Jan. 15. The Warriors won eight of their next 10 games, a pivotal stretch that helped them to a top-four finish in the NEC standings for a second consecutive year. Thomas put up 13.4 points per game against NEC competitors to rank seventh in the league and earn her a spot on the All-NEC third team for the second-straight season.
Le Moyne guard
Sydney Lusher (Oneida, NY/Oneida), who was often Baker’s partner in crime in the conference’s plays-of-the-week package with incredible highlight-reel-worthy dimes, doubled the NEC’s newcomer award total with her selection to the second team. The crafty distributor proved she could score in a variety of ways and is second on the Dolphins with 31 makes from long range and 9.0 ppg.
With the departure of a veteran-heavy back court due to graduation, senior guard
Jada Thornton (Germantown, MD/Gaithersburg) made it her time to shine and filled that void for Stonehill in 2023-24. The Germantown, MD native posted the most impressive scoring jump in the circuit this season. She went from averaging 1.7 points per game as a junior a year ago to finishing 10th in the NEC in scoring with 11.3 points per game. Thornton rarely left the court for the postseason-bound Skyhawks, as her 33.14 minutes per game were the eighth-most in the conference. It marks the second time in as many years that Stonehill landed an All-NEC honoree, as former guard Emily Bramanti capped off the program’s first-ever Division I season by earning first team distinction.
The All-Rookie team features one of the most talented lineups the league has seen in quite some time.
Joining Carruthers on the squad are a pair of talented guards in Merrimack’s
Thalia Shepard (Boston, MA/St. Andrew’s School) and FDU’s
Staci Williams (Holly Springs, NC/Holly Springs).
After averaging 4.9 points per game in a reserve role through her first 12 games as a collegian, Shepard emerged as a scoring threat for the Warriors, and by season’s end, she was putting up 8.3 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting from the field as a starter. Williams enjoyed a similar trajectory in her rookie season. Finishing the regular season averaging 8.3 points per game, she hit her stride in conference play with 11.8 points per game against league competitors and enters the postseason as one of the hottest shooters from three-point territory.
Rounding out the All-Rookie team is Sacred Heart forward
Nalyce Dudley (Norwich, CT/New London), a three-time Rookie of the Week honoree, and Wagner post player
Kiera Edmonds (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Law & Tech). Dudley, who shot 50.6 percent from the field while averaging 7.6 points and 5.1 boards per game, worked her way into the Pios’ starting five midway through the non-conference slate and she would not relinquish that spot for the remainder of the season. Edmonds led all NEC rookies with four double-doubles and was a nightmare for the opposition at the end of the season, averaging 11.4 points and 10.6 in her final seven appearances.
2023-24 Northeast Conference Women’s Basketball Award Winners
Player of the Year
Ny’Ceara Pryor Sacred Heart G 5-3 So. Baltimore, MD/Western
Rookie of the Year
Kendall Carruthers Saint Francis U G 5-7 Fr. Holland, OH/Springfield
Defensive Player of the Year
Lytoya Baker Le Moyne G 5-9 5th-Yr. Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney
Most Improved Player
Abby Conklin FDU G 5-7 Sr. Irvington, Ny/Irvington
Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year
Mary Grimes Le Moyne