WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Emmanuel's Ramirez-Tejeda Takes Home GNAC Player of the Year Honors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Emmanuel, Regis both receive
pair of major individual awards

WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College senior guard Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda headlines the 2020 Great Northeast Athletic Conference All-Conference Teams, as the Cambridge, Mass. native has been selected as the GNAC Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.

Ramirez-Tejeda helped led the Saints to their second straight and 17th overall GNAC Championship title this past Saturday, earning All-Tournament honors in the process. She garners All-GNAC First Team accolades for the third consecutive year, averaging 19.3 points and 12.0 rebounds on 48.4% shooting entering NCAA Tournament play. All three statistics currently rank top-four amongst GNAC leaders.

Along with YRT, Albertus Magnus College seniors Shyla Osmond and Rah-Rah Thompson, Anna Maria College junior Amber Wilson, and Suffolk University junior Jenni-Rose DiCecco rounded out the All-GNAC First Team squad.

While Osmond, a nightly triple-double threat (23.8 PTS, 7.6 REB, 7.0 AST), was the GNAC's leading scorer, teammate and classmate Thompson led the conference in both rebounding (15.2) and field-goal percentage (.505) to go along with 16.7 points per game, which was good for fifth among league leaders. The Falcons earned the No. 5 seed in the GNAC Tournament before falling to Suffolk in double overtime in the GNAC Quarterfinals last week.

Wilson collected her first GNAC All-Conference honor after averaging 20.3 points (second in the GNAC), 8.6 rebounds (ninth), 3.3 assists (ninth) and 3.1 blocks (first) per contest.

DiCecco, who won GNAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2018, was also an All-GNAC First Team choice in 2019. The Falmouth, Mass. native averaged 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.2 steals for the Rams, who lost 58-57 in the GNAC Semis at Emmanuel.

Hailing from the 2020 All-GNAC Third Team, Emmanuel senior Kayla Weaver was voted the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. She was also named GNAC Tournament MVP on Saturday afternoon after the Saints' title-winning victory over Saint Joseph's College of Maine, as she is averaging 10.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.0 steals.

The other two major award winners came from Regis College, as freshman standout Pam Gonzalez took the GNAC by storm this winter, averaging 13.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals en route to seven GNAC Rookie of the Week awards across 14 weeks.

Regis head coach Angela Santa Fe was voted GNAC Coach of the Year by her peers, as the Pride finished 8-3 in GNAC play to capture the No. 3 seed in the GNAC Tourney. The seventh-year leader was also a three-time New England Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year choice when the Pride were members of the NECC.

Gonzalez was an All-Second Team pick, alongside Colby-Sawyer College seniors Lexie Hamilton and Tianna Sugars, Lasell University senior Amanda Ortiz, and Saint Joseph's (Maine) junior Cassandra Stapelfeld.

The Colby-Sawyer duo leaves the Chargers' program simultaneously with longtime head coach George Martin, who is set to become the Director of Athletics at Dean College, which joins the GNAC next year as a full core member. Hamilton averaged 14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and a GNAC-leading 7.2 assists, while Sugars averaged a double-double with 15.9 points and 11.0 rebounds.

Ortiz enjoyed a stellar senior campaign for the Lasers, posting per-game numbers of 20.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a GNAC-leading 3.4 steals

Stapelfeld (11.5 PPG) was also a GNAC All-Tournament selection this past weekend, as the junior was the 2018 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Rookie of the Year at Endicott, before transferring to Simmons, before transferring to SJC after Simmons discontinued its hoop program.

FIRST TEAM
Shyla Osmond, Albertus Magnus
Rah-Rah Thompson, Albertus Magnus
Amber Wilson, Anna Maria
Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Jenni-Rose DiCecco, Suffolk

SECOND TEAM
Lexie Hamilton, Colby-Sawyer
Tianna Sugars, Colby-Sawyer
Amanda Ortiz, Lasell
Pam Gonzalez, Regis (Mass.)
Cassandra Stapelfeld, Saint Joseph's (Me.)

THIRD TEAM
Kayla Weaver, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Tiondra Hands, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Arie Searcy, Regis (Mass.)
Alyson Fillion, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Alexis Hackett, Suffolk

PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Emmanuel (Mass.)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Kayla Weaver, Emmanuel (Mass.)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Pam Gonzalez, Regis (Mass.)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Angela Santa Fe, Regis (Mass.)
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Saint Joseph (Conn.)

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Beatriz Honorio, Albertus Magnus
Dawnisha Franklin, Anna Maria
Joslin Wainwright, Colby-Sawyer
Jamad Fiin, Emmanuel
Marissa Cottrell, Johnson & Wales
Dana Ross, Lasell
KristieAnn DeSilvio, Norwich
Nikki Bitinaitis, Regis
Jackelyn Robarge, Rivier
Anna Chevarella, Saint Joseph (Conn.)
Lexi L'Heureux-Carland, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Jordan Hipwell, Suffolk

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 –