MAAC Announces 2018-19 Women’s Basketball Major Award Winners
MAAC Announces 2018-19 Women’s Basketball Major Award Winners
ALBANY, NY – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced the 2018-19 Major Award winners, as voted on by the leagues head coaches.
Stella Johnson of Rider University was named the 2018-19 MAAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. Johnson continued to add to her resume, which already included selections to the 2016-17 MAAC All-Rookie Team and 2017-18 All-MAAC Second Team. She becomes the second player in three years to win the award for Rider, with Robin Perkins collecting the hardware in 2016-17. Johnson led the league in both scoring (18.6) and steals (2.7) and was second in the league in assists (4.5). She also led the league with six MAAC Player of the Week awards throughout the season. The Junior twice scored 35 points this season, the first in Rider’s game against Mount St. Mary’s University on November 17 and the second against Fairfield University on January 6.
Courtney Warley of Manhattan College was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. Warley also added to her resume, which already included a selection to the 2017-18 MAAC All-Rookie Team. The Sophomore led the league in rebounding, averaging nine per game. Warley was also second in the league in blocked shots (1.7) and third in steals (2.2). She led all Manhattan players in minutes on the court, logging 32.2 per game. In addition to her Defensive Player of the Year Honors, Warley was also named to the All-MAAC Third Team.
Taylor Herd of Quinnipiac University was named the MAAC Sixth Player of the Year. Herd started nine games for the Bobcats, averaging eight points per game while dishing out 1.1 assists. The junior from Pennsylvania increased her playing time, going from 16.2 minutes a game in 2017-18 to 22.9 minutes a game during the 2018-19 season. Herd’s best game of the season came on January 20 at Canisius College, where she put up 21 points on 7-14 shooting while grabbing four rebounds and adding two assists in 27 minutes of action.
Lou Lopez-Senechal of Fairfield University was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year. Lopez-Senechal led a strong-finishing Fairfield team in scoring, averaging 11.4 points a game. She also averaged 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals. The freshman started in all 20 games she played in for the Stags this season, averaging 30.1 minutes on the court. A native of Grenoble, France, Lopez-Senechal led the league in MAAC Rookie of the Week honors this season with four. The rookie was able to grab the award in three of the final four weeks of the season.
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are taking place March 7-11 at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. The women’s first round, quarterfinal, and semifinal games will all be aired on ESPN3. The championship game is set for Monday, March 11 at 2:30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPNU.
Tickets for the MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are on still on sale. Tickets can be purchased by visiting
Ticketmaster.com or the Times Union Center Box Office.
For more information on the 2019 MAAC Basketball Championships, visit
maacsports.com/basketball. Be sure to follow the conversation on all social media platforms by using #MAACHoops19.
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 38
th year of competition during the 2018-19 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.