NEWBA Awards Released For February 18

Catherine O'Connell
Newbury College
Senior • Center • Quincy, Mass.


Averaging 23.0 points and 22.0 rebounds per game, senior center Catherine O'Connell led the Nighthawks to a perfect 3-0 week including a 70-63 upset victory over Elms College to split the season series. O'Connell opened the week surpassing her previous career single-game high in rebounds, ripping down 32 while netting 32 points with five blocks in a 64-47 victory over Lesley University on Senior Nigh, Monday evening. The following night, the South Shore native became Newbury's all-time scoring leader, supplanting 2006 graduate, Randi Hardiman's 1,303 career points, registering her 14th double-double of the season with 15 points and 15 rebounds. O'Connell closed out the week shooting a remarkable 69.2% from the floor to register a team-high 22 points while pulling down 19 boards. Overall on the week, O'Connell recorded 69 points with 66 rebounds and nine blocks. 

Alex Pezzella
Newbury College
Freshman • Guard • Rockland, Mass.

Averaging 20.0 points per game over the course of the three-game week, first year guard Alex Pezzella helped the Nighthawks to a perfect 3-0 week to end the regular season. Shooting 66.7% from the floor including knocking down three-of-five from beyond the arc, Pezzella dropped 17 points coming off the bench in a 64-47 victory over Lesley University to open the week. The following night against Wheelock College, the South Shore native came off the bench and surpassed her career single-game high draining six treys for a 26 points, only 24 minutes, in a 71-49 victory over the Wildcats. Pezzella remained red-hot from beyond the arc, netting 17 points in a 70-63 upset road victory over Elms College to even up the season series. Overall the week, Pezzella shot 47.2% from the floor - including 46.2% from beyond the arc (12-for-26) for 60 points over the course of the three game week. 

• Abbie Brickley, Wheaton College (So., F, Sandy, Utah) - Brickley averaged a double-double this week, with 19.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per contest.  In a 64-52 win over Mount Holyoke, Brickley shot 70% fromt he floor and 88% from the foul line, with 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots.
• Sarah Collins, Babson College (Sr., C, Weymouth, Mass.) - Collins averaged 23.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the field (16-31) and 88.2 percent from the free throw line (15-17) in a 2-0 week for 19th-ranked Babson. On Wednesday, she matched her career-high with 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and a 10-of-11 from the line while also grabbing 12 boards and blocking five shots in Babson's 71-46 road victory over Clark. Then on Saturday, the senior center totaled 17 points, 14 rebounds, and two more blocks in a 62-48 win at Springfield. 
• Denisha Parks, Elms College (So., F, Fall River, Mass.) - Parks helped Elms to a 2-1 week and earn the second seed in the upcoming NECC tournament by averaging 20.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. Parks scored 28 points and pulled down 14 rebounds against Newbury in a tough 70-63 loss, and scored 19 against Daniel Webster - reaching the 1,000-point milestone in the process. 
• Claire Baecher, Williams College (Sr., F, Brunswick, Maine) - Averaging 19 points, six rebounds, and 2.5 steals, Baecher scored her 1000th career point in the Ephs' game against Trinity last Wednesday, making her the 16th woman in the program's history to reach that milestone. Shooting an unbelievable 61.9% from the field and 80% from three point range, she also averaged 3.5 blocks in Williams' two wins this week. Their win over Wesleyan put the Ephs in the semi-finals of the NESCAC tournament. 
• Beth Suggs, University of New England (Sr., F, Bath, Maine) -  After a 13-point, 11-rebound effort for her 14th double-double against Endicott (with four assists), she posted her 15th double-double at Western New England in the regular-season finale. She scored a career-high 27 points in the contest, going 8-of-12 from the floor and 11-for-11 at the line. She accounted for 45% of her team's offense in the win that finished off UNE's perfect CCC season (18-0). For the week, she averaged 17.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals, shot 51.5% from the field, and shot 89.5% from the line.

Brickley

Collins

Suggs

• Southern Maine's Nicole Garland broke the school record for career three pointers with a her 208th career triple against UMass-Dartmouth
• Allie Beaulieu set a new single season record at Bates College for three pointers, with 64, while extending her career record for 206.  She ended her career with 1,170 points, seventh on the Bobcats' all-time scoring list.
• Williams College head coach Pat Manning earned her 400th career victory in the Ephs' NESCAC quarterfinal victory over Wesleyan.