WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: SJC's McNamara Caps Decorated GNAC Career with Second Player of the Year Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

McNamara joins Osmond, Ramirez-
Tejeda, Kacavas, DiCecco on First Team

WINTHROP, Mass. – For the second time in her illustrious four-year career with Saint Joseph's College of Maine, Monks guard Kelsi McNamara has been selected as the GNAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.

A three-time GNAC First Teamer and three-time GNAC Tournament MVP, the West Newbury, Mass. native was also named the league's Player of the Year in 2017 after being selected as the 2016 GNAC Rookie of the Year, when she was a Second Team honoree.

McNamara has averaged a career-best 21.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.9 assists during the 2018-19 season, in which the Monks were nationally-ranked all season long, while shooting 44.2% overall, 37.6% from three-point territory, and 88.1% at the free-throw line. Under longtime head coach Mike McDevitt, who was voted the league's Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season, McNamara helped lead SJC to a 27-0 overall record before falling to Emmanuel College in the GNAC Championship on Saturday.

For the complete All-Conference results, major award winners, and All-Sportsmanship Team, please see below.

In addition to McNamara's third First Team nod in as many seasons, Saint Joseph's of Maine led the way with four of the 15 All-Conference selections overall. All four hail from SJC's banner senior class, as Emily Benway was a Second Team selection and Julia Champagne and Hannah Marks earned Third Team honors. The Monks will await their possible at-large NCAA Tournament fate when the Division III selection show airs this afternoon at 2:30 PM.

McNamara, who is the GNAC all-time leader in assists and three-pointers made, was joined on the 2019 All-GNAC First Team by Albertus Magnus College junior Shyla Osmond, Emmanuel junior Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Rivier University senior Kaylee Kacavas and Suffolk University sophomore Jenni-Rose DiCecco.

Four of the five First Teamers were among the top-five in the GNAC in scoring this winter, headlined by Rivier's Kacavas. The senior from Dracut, Mass. averaged 26.7 points per game to lead all of Division III, to go along with 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 45.7% shooting overall.

Emmanuel's Ramirez-Tejeda was crowned the GNAC Tournament MVP this past Saturday following the GNAC title upset at Saint Joe's, marking the Saints' first conference crown under 42nd-year head coach Andy Yosinoff since winning seven straight from 2007-13. The junior has been dominant all season long, averaging 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds while shooting 55.9% overall entering NCAA Tournament play later this week.

For Albertus Magnus, which earned the No. 3 seed in the GNAC Tournament, Osmond filled it up across all categories, averaging 20.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists, while shooting 47.7% overall. Perhaps poised for a big 2019-20, the Falcons also saw junior Rah-Rah Thompson headline the All-GNAC Second Team after leading the league with 14.5 rebounds per game to go along with 16.2 points on 56.7% shooting. Thompson reached 15+ rebounds 12 times and had 20+ rebounds on six different occasions, helping Albertus force league champion Emmanuel to overtime in the GNAC Semifinals last week.

DiCecco, last year's GNAC Rookie of the Year, finished seventh among league leaders in scoring (17.0) and second in assists (6.9) to go along with 6.0 rebounds per game for the Rams. The sophomore hardly ever came off the court for head coach Ed Leyden, leading the league at 38.7 minutes per game. She also helped carry the load down the stretch after an injury to teammate and junior Alexis Hackett, the 2017 GNAC Rookie of the Year, who still earned All-GNAC Second Team recognition after averaging 11.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 22 games.

Emmanuel junior Kayla Weaver, a 2019 All-GNAC Third Team selection, was voted the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year by the league's 13 head coaches. The West Haven, Conn. native has started all 28 games for the Saints entering the NCAA Tournament, averaging 12.8 points, 3.2 assists and 3.2 steals.

Johnson & Wales University (RI) freshman Dede Stevenson was selected as the 2019 GNAC Rookie of the Year. The Wildcats made the GNAC playoffs as the No. 8 seed, with the Hartford, Conn. native averaging 12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists on the year. She also shot an impressive 40.7% from three for her rookie season, going for 20+ points four times and 30+ points twice.

Also garnering Second Team accolades were Simmons University sophomore Cassandra Stapelfeld, who finished second among GNAC leaders with 21.8 points per game, and Anna Maria College sophomore Amber Wilson, who averaged 16.5 points and 6.1 rebounds.

FIRST TEAM
Shyla Osmond, Albertus Magnus (Jr., New Haven, Conn.)
Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Emmanuel (Jr., South Boston, Mass.)
Kaylee Kacavas, Rivier (Sr., Dracut, Mass.)
Kelsi McNamara, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., West Newbury, Mass.)
Jenni-Rose DiCecco, Suffolk (So., Falmouth, Mass.)

SECOND TEAM
Rah Rah Thompson, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Bridgeport, Conn.)
Amber Wilson, Anna Maria (So., New York, N.Y.)
Emily Benway, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Rochester, N.H.)
Cassandra Stapelfeld, Simmons (So., Brookline, N.H.)
Alexis Hackett, Suffolk (Jr., Charlton, Mass.)

THIRD TEAM
Tianna Sugars, Colby-Sawyer (Jr., Oxford, Maine)
Madison McLaughlin, Emmanuel (Sr., Westerly, R.I.)
Kayla Weaver, Emmanuel (Jr., West Haven, Conn.)
Julia Champagne, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Brunswick, Maine)
Hannah Marks, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Waldoboro, Maine)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Kelsi McNamara, Saint Joseph's of Maine
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Kayla Weaver, Emmanuel
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Dede Stevenson, Johnson & Wales (RI)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Mike McDevitt, Saint Joseph's of Maine
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Saint Joseph (Conn.)

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Sasha Byrd, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Hamden, Conn.)
Johanna Burke, Anna Maria (Gr., Oxford, Mass.)
Mackenzie Buzzell, Colby-Sawyer (So., Lovell, Maine)
Arina Ovchinnikova, Emmanuel (Fr., Moscow, Russia)
Tara Murphy, Johnson & Wales (Fr., Killingworth, Conn.)
Jaime Caron, Lasell (Sr., Derry, N.H.)
Jenna Alexander, Norwich (Sr., Castleton, Vt.)
Marissa Prall, Regis (Fr., Hopkinton, Mass.)
Jackelyn Robarge, Rivier (Jr., Belmont, N.H.)
Raelynn Voislow, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (So., Windsor Locks, Conn.)
Hannah Marks, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Waldoboro, Maine)
Alexandra Kay, Simmons (Sr., Forked River, N.J.)
Shannon Smith, Suffolk (Fr., Tewksbury, Mass.)

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. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –