Marist Selected as Women’s Basketball Preseason Favorite; Rider’s Stella Johnson Named Preseason Player of the Year
Marist Selected as Women’s Basketball Preseason Favorite; Rider’s Stella Johnson Named Preseason Player of the Year
EDISON, N.J. (Oct. 22, 2019) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced its women’s basketball preseason honors, as voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
The Marist Red Foxes are favored to win the league this season after appearing in the championship game the previous two years. Head Coach Brian Giorgis returns for his 18
th season at the helm for Marist, and will look to lead the Red Foxes to the school’s 11
th NCAA Tournament appearance.
Quinnipiac University followed behind in second place. The Bobcats are coming off of their second-straight undefeated season in conference play and third-straight MAAC Championship title. Quinnipiac is currently riding a 52-game winning streak against conference opponents, dating back to February of 2017.
Rider University was voted into third place and Manhattan College in fourth. Monmouth University rounded out the top five.
Fairfield University was slotted in sixth, Niagara University in seventh, Canisius College in eight and Iona College in ninth. Siena College and Saint Peter’s University rounded out the Preseason Poll.
Senior Stella Johnson headlines the women’s hoops preseason honors after being named the 2018-19 Player of the Year. Johnson led the league last season with 18.8 points and 2.5 steals per contest. The standout Bronc also averaged 4.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 45.1% from the field.
Johnson was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team alongside Marist’s Alana Gilmer. Also making the First-Team is Marist’s Rebekah Hand, Niagara University’s Jai Moore, Monmouth’s Sierra Green, and the defending MAAC Defensive Player of the Year in Manhattan’s Courtney Warley.
Canisius’ D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks, Fairfield’s Lou Lopez-Senechal, Marist’s Grace Vander Weide, Quinnipiac’s Taylor Herd, and Rider’s Amari Johnson make up the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team. The Preseason All-MAAC Third Team features Iona’s Juana Camilion, Manhattan’s Gabby Cajou, Monmouth’s Lucy Thomas, and Quinnipiac’s Shaq Edwards and Paige Warfel.
Below is the full poll and preseason honors list:
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Stella Johnson – Rider |
| Preseason All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Courtney Warley |
Center |
Jr. |
Manhattan |
| Alana Gilmer * |
Forward |
R-Sr. |
Marist |
| Rebekah Hand |
Guard |
Sr. |
Marist |
| Sierra Green |
Guard |
Sr. |
Monmouth |
| Jai Moore |
Guard |
Sr. |
Niagara |
| Stella Johnson * |
Guard |
Sr. |
Rider |
* = Unanimous selection
| Preseason All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks |
Guard |
Sr. |
Canisius |
| Lou Lopez-Senechal |
Forward |
So. |
Fairfield |
| Grace Vander Weide |
Guard |
R-Sr. |
Marist |
| Taylor Herd |
Guard |
Sr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Amari Johnson |
Guard |
Sr. |
Rider |
| Preseason All-MAAC Third Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Juana Camilion |
Guard |
So. |
Iona |
| Gabby Cajou |
Guard |
Sr. |
Manhattan |
| Lucy Thomas |
Forward |
So. |
Monmouth |
| Shaq Edwards |
Guard |
Jr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Paige Warfel |
Forward |
Sr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Lea Favre |
Forward |
Sr. |
Rider |
| Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| Marist (9) |
119 |
| Quinnipiac (2) |
104 |
| Rider |
103 |
| Manhattan |
85 |
| Monmouth |
74 |
| Fairfield |
60 |
| Niagara |
53 |
| Canisius |
47 |
| Iona |
35 |
| Siena |
33 |
| Saint Peter’s |
13 |
About the 2020 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 10-14, 2020 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit
http://maacsports.com/basketball and follow
@MAACHoops on Twitter.
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 39
th year of competition during the 2019-20 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.