GNAC Announces 2018 Women's Basketball All-Conference, Bolden Named Player of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINTHROP, Mass. – Albertus Magnus College senior forward Olivia Bolden has been selected as the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Basketball Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's 13 head coaches. Bolden averaged 21.6 points and a league-leading 13.5 rebounds this season, which included the Falcons advancing to the GNAC Tournament Semifinals.

Bolden was a First Team selection along with Emmanuel College sophomore Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Johnson & Wales University (RI) senior Raquel Pederzani, Regis (Mass.) senior Brittany Stone and Saint Joseph's College of Maine junior Kelsi McNamara.

As for Bolden, the South Windsor, Conn. native had 21 double-doubles her senior season, recording at least 15 rebounds on 10 different occasions, while shooting 48.6 percent overall. Just last week, she became the Albertus program's all-time rebounding leader and eclipsed the 2,000-point threshold.

For the rest of the All-Conference selections and All-Sportsmanship Team selection from each GNAC institution, please see below.

Stone burst onto the GNAC scene in Regis' first year a full conference member, as the six-time GNAC Corvias Player of the Week was third in the league in scoring (19.7), second in rebounding (12.8) and first in field-goal percentage (.636). She helped lead the Pride to the No. 4 seed in the GNAC Tournament in their first year out of the NECC.

The remaining three First Team selections all earned the honorable distinction of CoSIDA Academic All-District®, which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.

Ramirez-Tejeda shot 53.0 percent from the floor for the Saints, averaging 15.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals in just 25.8 minutes per game as a sophomore.

Pederzani, who earns All-GNAC First Team honors for the third straight year, concludes her JWU career as the JWU program leader in scoring, assists and steals. This season, she posted per-game marks of 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Wildcats.

As for McNamara, who was voted the 2016 GNAC Rookie of the Year and the 2017 GNAC Player of the Year, she helped lead the Monks to their third straight GNAC Championship and NCAA Tournament with SJC's win over Suffolk University on Saturday afternoon. The junior averaged 18.7 points and a conference-leading 5.7 assists, shooting 40.7 percent from three-point range, topping all GNAC leaders with 86 makes from beyond the arc this winter.

McNamara's head coach Mike McDevitt was selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year for the second time in as many years, following a vote by his coaching peers. McDevitt, who has more than 500 career victories to his name, has guided the Monks to a 27-1 overall record, including an unblemished 16-0 mark in conference competition. SJC has checked in at No. 4 in each of the Division III Northeast Regional Rankings this month.

Suffolk University freshman floor general Jenni-Rose DiCecco was chosen as the GNAC Rookie of the Year after averaging 14.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists, finishing 12th among GNAC leaders in scoring and seventh in assists. The Falmouth, Mass. native carried a large load for the Rams, playing 35.5 minutes per game, as Suffolk advanced all the way to the GNAC Championship game.

Saint Joseph's of Maine junior guard Julia Champagne was selected as the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and a GNAC Third Team honoree. The 3-and-D, two-way threat has led the GNAC in three-point shooting (.407) this season and is averaging 12.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the Monks, who have held opponents to a mere 50.9 points per game entering the NCAA Tournament.

First Team
Olivia Bolden, Albertus Magnus (Sr., South Windsor, Conn.)
Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Emmanuel (So., South Boston, Mass.)
Raquel Pederzani, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Coventry, R.I.)
Brittany Stone, Regis (Sr., West Bridgewater, Mass.)
Kelsi McNamara, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Jr., West Newbury, Mass.)

Second Team
Morgan Church, Lasell (Sr., New London, N.H.)
Kaylee Kacavas, Rivier (Jr., Dracut, Mass.)
Shyann Josler, Norwich (Sr., Thetford Center, Vt.)
Emily Benway, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Jr., Rochester, N.H.)
Georgia Bourikas, Suffolk (Sr., Hull, Mass.)

Third Team
Jill Johnson, Albertus Magnus (Jr., North Haven, Conn.)
Alisha Fox, Emmanuel (Sr., National Park, N.J.)
Valerie Martin, Mount Ida (So., Derry, N.H.)
Julia Champagne, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Jr., Brunswick, Maine)
Alexis Hackett, Suffolk (So., Charlton, Mass.) 

Player of the Year – Olivia Bolden, Albertus Magnus
Defensive Player of the Year – Julia Champagne, Saint Joseph's of Maine
Rookie of the Year – Jenni-Rose DiCecco, Suffolk
Coach of the Year – Mike McDevitt, Saint Joseph's of Maine
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Rivier University

All-Sportsmanship Team
Kristen Cunning, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Hoboken, N.J.)
Kayla Odegaard, Anna Maria (Sr., Milton , Mass.)
Mary McCarthy, Emmanuel (Jr., Scituate, Mass.)
Kristen Habbel, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Phoenixville, Pa.)
Brianna Hoffman, Lasell (Sr., Milford, N.H.)
Patricia Liotta, Mount Ida (Sr., Hampton Bays, N.Y.)
Vanessa Fleury, Norwich (Jr., Lebanon, N.H.)
Nikki Bitinaitis, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., Cromwell, Conn.)
Lizzy Meehan, Rivier (So., Nashua, N.H.)
Rajeen Mayo, Saint Joseph (CT) (Sr., Middletown, Conn.)
Regan McFerran, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Albany, N.Y.)
Kirra Courchesne, Simmons (So., Wilmington, Vt.)
Alexandra Nagri, Suffolk (Sr., Salem, N.H.)

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

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