Quinnipiac Women’s Basketball Selected as Unanimous MAAC Preseason Favorite; Bobcats’ Aryn McClure Named Preseason Player of the Year
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced today that Quinnipiac University has been selected as the unanimous 2017 MAAC Women’s Basketball Preseason favorite, based on a vote by the league’s 11 head coaches. Bobcats’ junior guard/forward Aryn McClure, was named the 2017 Preseason Player of the Year.
Quinnipiac (29-7, 17-3 MAAC), the reigning MAAC women’s basketball champions, received all 11 first place votes, for 121 points overall in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Bobcats made a historic run to the Sweet 16 last season, as they became only the second team in conference history to advance to the Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament (Marist College, 2007).
The Bobcats finished 2016-17 first in the MAAC in scoring offense (68.4), scoring margin (+9.7), field goal percentage defense (36.9%), blocked shots per game (4.9), assists per game (16.2), steals per game (10.8), turnover margin (+4.94), and assist/turnover ratio (1.1).
Marist College placed second in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 109 points overall. The Red Foxes finished the 2016-17 Campaign (15-17, 11-9 MAAC) and were the No. 6 seed in the championship. Marist returns the unanimous 2017 MAAC Rookie of the Year, Rebekah Hand and junior guard Maura Fitzpatrick, who were both named to All-MAAC Preseason Teams, Second and Third Teams respectively.
Iona College (81) ranked third in the poll, Fairfield University (77) followed in fourth, and Monmouth University (71) was picked fifth. Rider University (68) placed sixth, in seventh place was Canisius College (60), and Siena College (55) in eighth. Niagara University (39), Manhattan College (34), and Saint Peter’s University (11) rounded out the Preseason Coaches’ Poll in the final three slots.
McClure is the first Bobcat to earn the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year honor. She averaged 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game for the 2017 MAAC Champions. The Springfield Gardens, NY native was named to the All-MAAC Third Team and MAAC All-Championship Team in 2016-17. McClure tallied a career-high 28 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field in the Bobcats’, 81-73, victory over Rider in the 2017 MAAC Championship game. She averaged 11.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game during Quinnipiac’s run to the Sweet 16.
Iona’s junior guard Alexis Lewis earns Preseason All-MAAC First Team honors after she was named to the All-MAAC First Team as a sophomore in 2016-17. The guard ranked third in the MAAC in scoring last season with 15.9 points per game and second in the league in rebounding with 8.3 per game. Lewis was tied for the most double-doubles in the conference with 12 and scored a career-high 27 points against Monmouth University on February 12, 2017. The Pittston, PA native was named a two-time MAAC Player of the Week last season.
Niagara’s red-shirt senior forward Victoria Rampado is a Preseason All-MAAC First Team member for the second consecutive season. Rampado led the MAAC in scoring in 2016-17, averaging 16.8 points per game and ranked fourth in the conference in rebounding with 7.9 boards per game. She was named to the All-MAAC Second Team as a red-shirt junior last season and registered eight double-doubles, which were tied for the third-most in the league. Rampado notched her 1,000
th career point versus Quinnipiac on January 26, 2017.
Quinnipiac’s red-shirt junior forward Jen Fay was named to the Preseason All-MAAC First team after she averaged a team-high 10.5 points per game for the reigning MAAC Champions. Fay was named to the All-MAAC Third Team and MAAC All-Championship Team in her red-shirt sophomore campaign. The Lynbrook, NY native averaged a team-best 13.7 points per game in the NCAA Tournament during the Bobcats run to the Sweet 16. Fay poured in a career-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting versus non-conference opponent Temple on November 27, 2016.
Siena’s senior guard Kollyns Scarbrough rounds out the 2017-18 Preseason All-MAAC First Team. Scarbrough ranked 10
th in the MAAC in scoring during her junior campaign with 13.6 points per game and was an All-MAAC Second Team selection. The Jamaica, NY native scored 34 points against Monmouth on January 28, 2017. Her 34-point performance was tied for the league-high for points scored in a game last season. Scarbrough became the 28
th member of the Saints’ 1,000-point club on February 26, 2017.
The Preseason All-MAAC Second Team consists of Canisius’ junior forward Sara Hinriksdottir, Manhattan’s senior center Kayla Grimme, senior guard Amani Tatum, Marist’s Rebekah Hand, and Rider’s senior guard Kamila Hoskova.
The Preseason All-MAAC Third Team is made up of Fairfield red-shirt senior forward Samantha Cooper, Marist’s Fitzpatrick, Monmouth’s sophomore guard Kayla Shaw, Niagara’s senior forward Kaylee Stroemple, and Rider sophomore guard Stella Johnson.
The 2018 MAAC Basketball Championships returns to the Times Union Center in Albany, NY for the fourth year in a row and continues to be the host site for the Championships through 2019. The 2018 Men’s and Women’s Championships marks the 19
th time that Albany has hosted the event, more than any other location.
This year’s Women’s Basketball Championship game takes place on Monday, March 5 at 2:30 p.m. and airs live on ESPNU with the winner earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
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 #MAACHoops.
| Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| 1. |
Quinnipiac* (11) |
121 |
| 2. |
Marist |
109 |
| 3. |
Iona |
81 |
| 4. |
Fairfield |
77 |
| 5. |
Monmouth |
71 |
| 6. |
Rider |
68 |
| 7. |
Canisius |
60 |
| 8. |
Siena |
55 |
| 9. |
Niagara |
39 |
| 10. |
Manhattan |
34 |
| 11. |
Saint Peter’s |
11 |
| Preseason All-MAAC First Team |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Alexis Lewis |
Guard |
Iona |
| Victoria Rampado |
Forward |
Niagara |
| Jen Fay |
Forward |
Quinnipiac |
| Aryn McClure |
Guard/Forward |
Quinnipiac |
| Kollyns Scarbrough |
Guard |
Siena |
| Preseason All-MAAC Second Team |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Sara Hinriksdottir |
Forward |
Canisius |
| Kayla Grimme |
Center |
Manhattan |
| Amani Tatum |
Guard |
Manhattan |
| Rebekah Hand |
Guard |
Marist |
| Kamila Hoskova |
Guard |
Rider |
| Preseason All-MAAC Third Team |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Samantha Cooper |
Forward |
Fairfield |
| Maura Fitzpatrick |
Guard |
Marist |
| Kayla Shaw |
Guard |
Monmouth |
| Kaylee Stroemple |
Forward |
Niagara |
| Stella Johnson |
Guard |
Rider |
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Aryn McClure |
Guard/Forward |
Quinnipiac |
*denotes unanimous selection
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.