Somerset, NJ - All five women finished the 2019-20 campaign ranked amongst the top-eight Northeast Conference scoring leaders and the all-star quintet returns for more with the 2020-21 basketball season on the horizon.

Representing five different NEC institutions, St. Francis Brooklyn’s Nevena Dimitrijevic (Kragujevac, Serbia), Sacred Heart’s Adrianne Hagood (Washington, DC), Mount St. Mary’s Michaela Harrison (Cleveland, OH), Wagner’s Emilija Krista Grava (Ligatne, Latvia) and LIU’s Brandy Thomas (Baldwin, NY) comprise the Preseason All-NEC Team.

The conference unveiled the names of the five honorees along with results from the annual preseason coaches’ poll as part of its virtual media day event, which was carried live by ESPN3 and NEC Front Row.
 
Dimitrijevic’s debut season in Brooklyn Heights ended with the NEC Rookie of the Year award. The Terriers’ Serbian-born point guard, who paced the NEC in assists (6.2 apg) as a freshman, will tip off her second collegiate season as a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List. Dimitrijevic is the first Terrier in program history to be named to the list, which recognizes the top collegiate point guards. The 5-foot-3 floor general paced all NEC freshmen in scoring average (14.2 ppg) last year and her assists average ranked eighth overall on the DI leader board at the conclusion of the regular season.
 
Hagood has consistently ascended up the all-NEC ladder over her three years in Fairfield. The dynamic scorer earned NEC All-Rookie status as a freshman before snaring a spot on the All-NEC Third Team as a sophomore. Last March, Hagood received All-NEC Second Team accolades after averaging a SHU-high 15.6 points per contest. The Washington, DC product ranked third amongst league leaders in both scoring average and three-pointers per game (2.2).
 
After making 24 starts as a rookie, Harrison took the next step during her sophomore season by securing a place on the All-NEC First Team. With her emergence as a primary scorer coinciding with Mount’s highest win total in 20 years, the 5-foot-7 guard averaged a team-high 12.6 points per contest to rank eighth amongst league leaders. Her 75 three-pointers account for a Mount single-season record and her 2.0 steals per game were second most on the circuit. Harrison is the first Mountaineer to appear on the Preseason All-NEC Team since Sydney Henderson in 2013.
 
Krista Grava finished the 2019-20 campaign leading Wagner in points per game (15.7), rebounds per game (6.0) and field goal percentage (.466). In addition to ranking sixth amongst NEC leaders in shooting percentage, the Latvian-born forward connected on 77.1 percent of her free throw attempts (accounting for the sixth-best rate on the circuit). Krista Grava was responsible for the NEC single-game scoring season high thanks to her 45 points in a win over MAAC member Saint Peter’s on November 13, 2019.
 
Thomas turned it up a notch after winning the 2019 NEC Rookie of the Year award. Surging as a sophomore, the New York City product accounted for 14.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest, ranking fourth and sixth amongst league leaders in those two respective statistical categories. Thomas reached double figures in scoring during 25 of her 30 starts for the Sharks. She made a team-high 52 steals and her 3.6 offensive rebounds per game stood as the third-highest average on the circuit.