West Babylon, N.Y. - Sophomore Sarah Ericson of the St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team was selected as the ECC Player of the Year and was joined on the All-Conference First Team by sophomore Erin Leary and senior Alexa Huertas, who was tabbed for the Third Team, as the league office announced its All-Conference honors on Friday.
Ericson earns Player of the Year kudos after receiving the conference's Rookie of the Year award in the 2021-22 season.
Ericson, who was a Second Team pick in 2022, is one of three Spartans to play all 27 games this season. She is averaging 12.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per contest, while shooting 40.8 percent (122-299) from the field, 37.1 percent (49-132) from three and 80.0 percent (44-55) at the line. The Norwich, Connecticut native, was a two-time ECC Player of the Week and also ECC Defensive Player of the Week on one occasion during the regular season. Ericson ranks seventh in the league in scoring (337 points), fourth in three-point percentage (37.1), first in rebounds (266), fourth in assists (95) and fourth in steals (55).
Leary, who collects her first ECC All-Conference award of her collegiate career, has started in all 27 contests she has played in. She is posting 14.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while knocking down 45.8 percent (140-306) of her shots from the floor, 34.2 percent from downtown (39-114) and 78.3 percent (65-83) from the stripe. The Carle Place, New York resident was a two-time ECC Player of the week and also ECC Defensive Player of the Week on three occasions. Leary ranks third in the conference in scoring (384 points), fifth in both field goal percentage (45.8) and free-throw percentage (78.3), sixth in rebounds (204) and fifth in blocked shots (29).
Huertas, returned to action midway through the 2022-23 season, after battling through an injury, and placed third on the team in points per game with 8.7 in 17 contests. The Haverstraw, New York native earned the regular season's final ECC Player of the Week accolades. Huertas ranks 11th in the conference in three-point percentage (33.7), as her shots from long distance began to sail through the nets with some regularity down the stretch.
STAC has earned a bye into the semifinal round of the 2023 ECC Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be held at Lumsden Gymnasium on the campus of Daemen University, this Saturday, March 4. The #2 seeded Spartans will tip-off at 3:00 p.m. against #6 Queens College. The winner will face either #1 Daemen University or #5 College of Staten Island (Saturday, 12:00 p.m.), the very next day (Sunday, March 5 - 12:00pm) for the right to be called ECC Women's Basketball Champion. Following the crowning of a champion on Sunday afternoon, NCAA brackets and locations will be announced later that night. Regional play takes place the very next weekend (March 10-13), with the Elite Eight to be held from March 20-22 at the St. Joseph Civic Center in St. Joseph, Missouri. The final two teams will head to Dallas, Texas (American Airlines Center) to play in the DII national championship game on April 1.
2022-2023 ECC Women's Basketball All-Conference