NEWBA Releases Awards For February 1

Amanda Hawkesworth
Regis College (Mass.)
Junior • Forward • Abington, Mass.

Regis College junior forward Amanda Hawkesworth is the NEWBA/Prestosports Player of the Week for February 1. Hawkesworth led the Pride to a 3-0 record in conference play this week. The junior forward averaged a double-double 25.3 points and 13.0 rebounds while also handing out 3.0 assists, making 2.0 steals and blocking 1.0 shots a game. She recorded two double-doubles this week giving her six on the campaign. Hawkesworth was double-teamed most of the time this week, but she still converted 48.3% (29-of-60) of her attempts from the field. Her best game of the week came against Daniel Webster on Saturday when she tied the program record with 36 points, a mark that she set almost a year ago (1/31/15) against this same team. The junior captain came down with a season-best 16 rebounds and matched a career-high with six steals during the four point, 75-71 Pride victory.

Alayne Felix
Maine Maritime Academy
Freshman • Forward • Maopac, N.Y.

Maine Maritime Academy freshman Alayne Felix is the NEWBA Rookie of the Week for February 1.  As the leading scoring in three games, Felix led the Mariners to three big wins this week, shooting 40.7 percent from the floor, and averaging 21 points and six rebounds per game. In Tuesday's win over Maine-Fort Kent, the freshman tallied 16 points, on 46.7 percent shooting, while pulling down six rebounds, dishing out three assists and two steals. In a 58-53 conference victory over Colby-Sawyer, Felix led the way with 23 points, six rebounds two blocks and two steals. In Saturday's 56-45 win over New England College the forward scored 24 points, six rebounds, and a steal. 

• Heather LeBlanc, Norwich University (Jr., G, Sanford, Maine) -LeBlanc averaged 18 PPG and shot 56.5 percent from the floor and 76.9 from the stripe. She would also pull down 16 rebounds per game. LeBlanc and the Cadets opened the week with an 81-57 win over the University of St. Joseph in which LeBlanc tallied 16 points and 15 rebounds to go along with the four assists that she also picked up in the win. LeBlanc carried the hot streak into the next game against Mount Ida as she scored 20 points and collected 17 rebounds, recording her 10th double double of the season as Norwich picked up its second straight win, 92-71.  
• Rebecca Arnone, Wheaton College (Mass.) (Sr., G, Litchfield, N.H.) - Arnone came up huge in two big NEWMAC wins for Wheaton this week. In an overtime win at Smith she posted 10-11 from the free throw line along with 26 points total and five steals. Earlier in the week against Clark, Arnone had 17 points and nine rebounds.
• Kirsy Segarra, Westfield State University (Jr., G, Holyoke, Mass.) - Segarra had a huge week for the Owls, averaging 21 points and five steals per game in a pair of MASCAC wins. Thriving in the Owls' high-tempo system she shot 57 percent from the floor (16-28) and 50 percent (3-6) from three point range while scoring at a 42 point-per-40-minutes clip. In a 97-77 win over Worcester she scored a career-high 18 (with four steals and three assists), then bettered that mark with 24 points in a 102-60 win over Fitchburg, registering six steals in the game as well.
• Giovanna Pickering, Babson College (Jr., G, Hull, Mass.) - Pickering averaged 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals and 2.3 assists as the Beavers extended their winning streak to six games with a trio of conference victories. The junior point guard, who shot 43.9 percent from the floor last week, scored 17 points to go along eight boards and four steals in a 78-54 win over Coast Guard on January 24. Pickering then finished with 19 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists in a 73-41 victory over MIT on Wednesday, and put up 11 points, seven boards and three assists in Saturday's 66-62 triumph over Springfield. 
• Kaitlyn LaBonte, Western Connecticut State University (So., G, South Windsor, Conn.) - LaBonte scored a career high 28 points, making six threes in a 78-64 win over Rhode Island College.  She also added 16 points in a win over the University of Southern Maine
• Alecia Dulaire, Western Connecticut State University (Jr., F, Bloomfield, Conn.) -  Dulaire shot the lights out for the Colonials this past week, making 13-of-18 shots from the floor and averaging 16 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.5 steals as WCSU won LEC games against Rhode Island College and Southern Maine. 

LeBlanc

Arnone

Segarra

  Pickering

LaBonte

Dulaire