UMaine’s Anne Simon named Player of Year and Defensive Player of the Year

Anne Simon said she was nervous when she began her collegiate basketball career at the University of Maine.

Orono was 3,378 miles from her hometown of Sandweiler, Luxembourg, and she was living in a new country for the first time.

“But once I was on campus and met all the other players it was just amazing. They were so welcoming. We had a lot of international students [on the team] and we were all in the same boat,” recalled Simon. “I was roommates with Anna Kahelin and you couldn’t ask for a better roommate. Abbe Laurence was also in our class.”

They became close friends.

The graduate student guard has flourished at UMaine and on Wednesday was named the America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season for the second time in her career, joining former teammate Blanca Millan as the only two in league history to win both awards in the same season twice.

“I’m definitely blessed and very grateful. It wouldn’t be possible without my teammates and the coaches. They push me every day on the court as well as off the court. They make sure I’m in the right headspace. And I’ve tried to be a good leader,” Simon said.

UMaine’s Amy Vachon on Wednesday also became the only coach in America East history to earn five Coach of the Year awards. 

“The coaches are amazing. They put in a lot of work trying to figure out what works best for our team. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to play for them for five years,” said Simon. 

Vachon guided the Black Bears to their fourth America East regular season title in six years this season as they will take a 21-9 record (14-2 in America East) into a 5 p.m. Friday quarterfinal against UMass Lowell (4-24, 4-12) at the Memorial Gym.

And joining Simon on the All-AE first team was junior forward Adrianna Smith, last year’s AE Player of the Year.

Simon was also picked to the All-Defensive team by the league’s coaches.

They were the only two Black Bear players to earn spots on the All-AE first, second or third teams or the all-rookie team.

Simon leads the conference in scoring, averaging 18.9 points per game. That is 37th in the country among players at 349 Division I programs.

She is also second in rebounding at 7.3 per game, trailing only Smith (11.2 rpg).

The 5-foot-8 Simon has the conference’s best free throw shooting percentage (81.9 percent) and leads the league in minutes played per game (35). She is second in steals (2.4), fourth in assists (3.3) and fourth in 3-point shooting percentage (34.3), and 3-pointers made per game (2.1).

She has set single-season highs in points (548) and points per game and in rebounds (213) and rebounds per game.

She has scored at least 20 points in a game 13 times this season.

“This has been my best year. I am playing with a lot more confidence,” said the 24-year-old Simon. “I’m playing more freely this year. My injury (high ankle sprain) was in my head last year and I didn’t play the way I can.”

Her sprained ankle sidelined for eight games on two different occasions.

Simon said this is the first time she has been able to play a full season with Smith, who averaged just seven minutes of playing time two years ago when she was a freshman.

She said playing with Smith and her other teammates has been incredible.

“They have made it so easy for me on the court. I can score or rebound or whatever I need to do to help the team,” said Simon, who speaks four languages and has scored at least 22 points in five or her last seven games. Her 1,905 career points is sixth on the all-time scoring list, 69 behind her former teammate Millan.

“I learned a lot from her,” said Simon.

Like Simon, Smith has had a monster season.

She not only leads the conference in rebounds per game at 11.2, she is also tops in assists (4.5). She is tied for eighth in the country in rebounds.

She leads the conference in double-doubles and is third in the country with 21 of them. She is second in the conference in scoring (16.4).

The 5-11, Reston, Va. native has eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career.

Simon said they will be ready for the River Hawks on Friday and won’t take them lightly.

UMaine is 8-0 in its conference home games, 7-0 at The Pit and 1-0 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Complementing Simon and Smith are senior forward Caroline Bornemann (7.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and sophomore guard Sarah Talon (6.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg). 

The River Hawks of Denise King placed four players on the All-America East squad in third-team selection graduate student guard Milli Carrera (9.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg); redshirt junior guard and All-Defensive team member Sydney Watkins (league leading 2.9 steals per game, 7.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.9 apg) and All-Rookie team choices Abbey Lindsey (9.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Rayne Durant (6.6 ppg, 5 rpg).

Lindsey is a guard and Durant is a forward.