MAAC Announces 2017-18 Women's Basketball Major Awards
ALBANY, NY – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced the 2017-18 Women’s Basketball Major Award winners, as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
The 2017-18 MAAC Player of the Year in women’s basketball is senior forward Victoria Rampado of Niagara University. Rampado becomes the first Purple Eagle to win Player of the Year since Eva Cunningham in the 2004-05 season. The senior was a unanimous First Team All-MAAC selection. The forward, led the league in scoring (20.8 ppg) and was second in rebounding (9.8). Rampado was a five-time MAAC Player of the Week this season. Rampado became the Purple Eagles all-time leading scorer when she surpassed Cunningham’s record of 1,753 against Monmouth on February 18.
Maura Fitzpatrick of Marist College was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. Fitzpatrick, who led the league in minutes played, led Marist in steals with 36 and played a key role on defense as the Red Foxes were number one in the MAAC in field goal percentage defense at 37.1-percent. The guard’s defense also propelled the Red Foxes to third in the MAAC in three-point field goal percentage defense during the regular season.
Manhattan College’s Gabby Cajou took home Sixth Player of the Year Award. Cajou, becomes the first Jasper to win the award, provided a spark off the bench for the Jaspers by averaging 8.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. She came off the bench to lead the Jaspers in scoring on three different occasions; at New Hampshire, vs Monmouth, and at Fairfield. The guard scored in double figures 13 times overall on the season and dished out over five assists in nine contests.
Iona’s Toyosi Abiola was voted as the Rookie of the Year by the head coaches. The London, England native was a nine-time Rookie of the Week winner and was the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year voted by the leagues head coaches. Abiola is the first Gael to win Rookie of the Year since Joy Adams did back in 2012-13. Abiola started every game and led the league in minutes played per game at 35.5 while averaging 11.8 points. She was the only rookie in top 30 in scoring in the MAAC. The first-year Gael scored a season-high 21 against both St. Francis Brooklyn and Canisius.
The 2018 MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship resumes today with quarterfinal action starting at 1 p.m. with No. 1 seed Quinnipiac taking on No. 9 seed Monmouth at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.
About the MAAC Basketball Championships:
The 2018 MAAC Basketball Championships take place March 1-5, at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. 16 of the 20 contests are set to air exclusively on ESPN3. For all information on the 2018 MAAC Basketball Championships, visit maacsports.com/basketball. Be sure to follow the conversation on all social media platforms by using #MAACHoops18.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37
th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.