Victoria McIntyre of Mars Hill, who spearheaded Husson University’s drive to the North Atlantic Conference women’s basketball regular-season title this season, has been selected as the NAC Player of the Year.
The senior guard was among three winners of major awards announced on Thursday as junior Chandler Guerrette was named the NAC Defensive Player of the Year and Kissy Walker was the choice as NAC Coach of the Year.
Alayne Felix of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine was chosen the Rookie of the Year, and senior Elizabeth Ferry of the University of Maine-Farmington was tabbed Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year.
McIntyre and Guerrette are joined on the All-NAC first team by Felix, Meghan Smith of UMF and Castleton University senior Jade Desroches.
The All-NAC second team includes Husson freshman Kenzie Worcester of Washburn, juniors Marjani Lillard and Breana Ramirez of New England College, senior Bryanna duPont of Castleton and junior Domonique Carter-Stanley of Johnson State.
Guerrette and Ferry also were named to the All-Sportsmanship team.
The NAC semifinals will be played starting at noon Friday at Husson’s Newman Gymnasium.
McIntyre averaged 13.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists to help Husson post a 19-6 overall record and a 17-1 NAC mark. She hit 37 3-pointers while shooting 37 percent and eclipsed 1,000 career points.
Guerrette, the 2015 rookie of the year, averaged 10.7 points and shot 49 percent from the 3-point arc and 69 percent from the foul line. She also tallied 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals in league play.
Walker, in her 25th season at Husson, earns her fifth coach of the year honor. The Eagles posted their third consecutive 15-win season this year. Husson ranks eighth nationally in turnover margin (8.04) and is 12th in 3-point percentage (.358).
Winslow’s Ferry has been selected as the NAC’s first women’s basketball Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year. The Secondary Education (English) major, who will serve with the Peace Corps in Tanzania, Africa (2016-18), has been named to the Dean’s List for six semesters at UMF and on the NAC All-Academic team. She is involved in the UMF Honors Program, Alpha Lamba Delta Honor Society, and has served as a UMF Admissions Student-Athlete Ambassador.
On the court, Ferry ranked second in the NAC in blocks per game (1.8), while also averaging 6.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this season.
Felix, a forward from Mahopac, New York, took rookie honors after averaging 17 points and 6.7 rebounds in NAC action and shot 50.9 percent for the season and 79 percent from the foul line.
UMFK women earn No. 5 seed
The University of Maine at Fort Kent women’s basketball team has been named the No. 5 seed for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Division I National Championships.
The Bengals of coach Travis Delisle finished the regular season with a 19-5 record despite playing 20 of their 25 games on the road or at neutral sites.
UMFK is slated to face No. 4 seed Silver Lake College of Manitowoc, Wisconsin (20-5), at noon March 2 at Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
In the USCAA Division II ranks, UMaine at Augusta (23-8) claimed the No. 4 seed and plays No. 5 Penn State Beaver (18-9) at 6 p.m. March 3. Southern Maine Community College of South Portland (23-8) is the No. 6 seed and meets No. 3 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (19-4) at 9:30 p.m. March 3.
UMM, UMPI men to nationals
The men’s basketball teams from UMaine at Machias and UMaine at Presque Isle have been selected to participate in the the USCAA Division II National Tournament.
The 14-5 Clippers of coach Troy Alley are seeded fifth and will battle No. 4 Warren Wilson College (17-13) in a quarterfinal at 3:15 p.m. March 3 at Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
“This team rallied from behind, knocked off a No. 4, No. 1, then the No. 2 home seed [at the Yankee Small College Conference tournament] — this has made all of us at this university very proud of them,” UMM athletics director Betsy Hayden said in a news release.
The Owls of coach Mike Holmes secured their first-ever bid to the USCAA nationals. UMPI (13-11) is the No. 9 seed and takes on No. 2 St. Joseph’s College of Vermont (20-9) in a quarterfinal 8 p.m. March 2 at Penn State Fayette.
“I am thrilled for our players and close followers of our program that we will have the opportunity to represent Presque Isle on a national stage,” Holmes said in a news release. “The players earned the privilege by going through a very difficult schedule and earning big wins against key opponents.”
Central Maine Community College of Auburn (21-9) claimed the No. 10 seed and plays No. 7 Penn State Fayette (15-11) at 6 p.m. March 2.