HIGGINS NAMED GNAC & DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR; Negri, Clay & Davis Earn All-GNAC Honors
BOSTON, Mass. - Emmanuel College senior guard Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) was selected as the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league’s 12 head coaches. Higgins, a First Team All-Conference selection, averaged 14.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per game for the Saints and led the GNAC with 3.4 steals per game. The Groveland, Mass. native helped guide Emmanuel to a share of the GNAC regular-season title and a runner-up finish in the GNAC title game.
February 29, 2016
BOSTON, Mass. - Emmanuel College senior guard Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) was selected as the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's 12 head coaches. Higgins, a First Team All-Conference selection, averaged 14.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in 26.3 minutes per game for the Saints and led the GNAC with 3.4 steals per game. The Groveland, Mass. native helped guide Emmanuel to a share of the GNAC regular-season title and a runner-up finish in the GNAC title game.
Higgins led the Saints in points per game en route to becoming the 22nd player in Emmanuel history to score 1,000 points in her career, finishing with 1,092. She also becomes just the third Emmanuel women's basketball player to record 1,000+ points, 500+ rebounds, 200+ assists, and 200+ steals in her career.
Along with being named to the GNAC All-Conference First Team, Higgins was also named to the GNAC All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the Championship game on Saturday, February 27 at Saint Joseph's College (ME).
Emmanuel graduate student Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.), another member of the 1,000-point club (1,025), was a Second Team All-GNAC selection. Negri led the Saints with 8.1 rebounds per game, and went on an absolute tear down the stretch to carry the Saints to the title game. Negri scored 65 points and grabbed 38 rebounds in three playoff games and scored in double figures in each of her final eight games. The forward joined Higgins on the GNAC All-Tournament team.
Negri became the sixth player in Emmanuel history with 1,000+ points and 650+ rebounds.
Junior Olivia Marks (Canterbury, Conn.) was also named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
On the men's side, senior forward John Clay (Westport, Mass.) was a Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Second Team selection and center Kyle Davis forward (Groveland, Mass.) was an All-GNAC Third Team choice.
Clay ends his career with 745 points, 568 rebounds, and 142 steals. He graduates ranked tied for sixth in EC Men's Basketball history in total rebounds and tied for 10th in points scored. A captain each of the last two seasons, Clay helped guide the program to back-to-back GNAC Quarterfinal wins in the 2015 and 2016 campaigns.
Davis holds the single-game program record with 21 rebounds (1/17/15 vs. Norwich), and finishes with 665 points and 382 rebounds in his career. He will graduate ranked fourth all-time in career scoring average, posting 13.9 points per game over his 48 career contests with EC.
Freshman Max Butterbrodt (North Andover, Mass.) was also named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.