NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Sirviva Legions, LIU
Guard, Junior, 5-8, Brooklyn, NY/Mansfield Legacy (Southern)
Legions poured in the points to lead LIU to a thrilling win over visiting Northeastern on Sunday. The junior guard had a banner day in the 63-61 triumph, delivering a season-high 21 points after knocking down 8-of-15 from the field. In addition, Legions, who added two steals, drilled 1-of-2 from behind the arc and turned in a 4-of-5 effort from the free-throw line. The win marked the Sharks’ first against a CAA team in more than five years, an 85-46 defeat of Hofstra on Nov. 30, 2019. With her first 20-point outing and fifth double-figure scoring game of the season, the Southern transfer and Brooklyn product pushed her average into double figures at 11.0, which is good for second among fellow Sharks behind sophomore Janessa Williams (11.1 ppg). She enters the tied for third in the league in steals (1.9) and 10th in scoring.

Bailey Kuhns, Mercyhurst
Forward, Junior, 5-11, Mount Pleasant, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic
Kuhns made history on Monday by becoming the first-ever Mercyhurst women’s basketball player to earn NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Player of the Week distinction. The Keystone State product did so after she continued her torrid scoring spree in the Lakers’ lone game of the week, a 64-63 overtime loss at Cornell. Kuhns registered the NEC’s first 30-point outing of the season and accounted for more than half of her team’s scoring in the hard-fought defeat by dropping 32 points on 15-of-25 (60.0 percent) shooting. That effort is tied for 32nd among all NCAA Division I players, while her 15 makes from the field are tied for the most by a player in the nation this season. In addition, the junior forward hauled in 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the campaign. Netting double figures in each of her seven games this season, including a league-leading three 20-plus point outings, Kuhns is ranked first in the NEC and is tied for 28th in the nation in scoring with 19.6 points per game.

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Megan Sias, Stonehill
Center/Forward, Freshman, 6-1, Toms River, NJ/Toms River North
Sias enjoyed a breakout week for Stonehill against a pair of tough America East competitors. Entering the week with 28 points through her first five games as a collegian, the Toms River, NJ native more than doubled her scoring total after she combined for 32 points against Maine and UAlbany. More impressively, Sias, who averaged 16.0 points and 4.5 boards off the bench, had a hot hand from the field during that stretch, as she drained 13-of-26 from the field. The center/forward provided a huge spark as a reserve against the Black Bears, a team that captured the America East title a year ago. Going 10-of-16 from the floor for a blistering 62.5 percent, she led the Skyhawks with a career-high 23 points in the 87-75 defeat on Tuesday. Sias followed her first career 20-point outing by contributing nine points in Sunday’s 80-59 setback to the Great Danes. She ranks third on the team in scoring (8.6 ppg) and is also third in rebounding (4.3 rpg).


NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

Aiyanna Culver, CSU (G, Fr.)
Culver has been on a tear from three-point range as of late, and that hot shooting continued in Chicago State’s two games in the Sooner State this past week. Combining to shoot 45.0 percent from long range (7-of-16), the first-year guard put up 16 points at Oklahoma State on Monday before she dropped a career-high 20 points at Tulsa on Wednesday.
 
Sirviva Legions, LIU (G, Jr.)
Legions went 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line to lead LIU to a nail-biting, 63-61 win over Northeastern in its lone game of the week on Sunday. The Texas transfer notched her fifth double-figure scoring game of the season after she netted a game- and career-high 21 points. Legions also garnered NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Co-Player of the Week distinction.
 
Janessa Williams, LIU (G, So.)
Pulling down a team-best seven rebounds, Williams shot 50.0 percent from the field to finish with 11 points in LIU’s 63-61 win over visiting Northeastern on Sunday. The sophomore guard knocked down a pair of threes, including a clutch triple that tied up the game at 61-all with 61 seconds left to play.
 
Bailey Kuhns, MU (F, Jr.)
Kuhns became the first NEC baller this season to put up 30 points in a game when she dropped 32 in Mercyhurst’s hard-fought, 64-63 overtime defeat to Cornell on Wednesday. Scoring in double figures in every game this season, the league’s top scorer went 15-of-25 from the field and added 10 boards for her first double-double of the year. Kuhns was also named the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Co-Player of the Week.
 
Yanessa Boyd, SFU (G, So.)
Boyd averaged 13.0 points, 3.0 boards and 1.0 block in a pair of road games at Keystone State opponents Saint Joseph’s and Duquesne. Netting six points against the Hawks, the sophomore guard drained 3-of-4 three-pointers and finished 8-of-12 from the field to establish a new career high of 20 points against the Dukes.
 
Megan Sias, STO (F, Fr.)
Sias put up big numbers off the bench for Stonehill in a pair of games against America East members Maine and UAlbany. In 21.1 minutes per game, the rookie forward averaged 16.0 points on 50.0 percent shooting (13-of-26), including her first career 20-point outing (23 points) against the Black Bears, the reigning America East champion. Sias was also named the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week.
 
Kylie Swider, STO (C, Gr.)
Turning in a 52.4 percent effort from the floor after going 11-of-21, Swider contributed 12.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks for the Skyhawks in a pair of defeats to America East opponents. Tallying 12 points and 10 boards for her NEC-leading second double-double of the year against defending America East champion Maine on Tuesday, the graduate center went 6-of-9 from the floor for 13 points, eight boards and a career-high four blocks against undefeated UAlbany on Sunday.


#NECWBB BY THE NUMBERS
30 - Mercyhurst junior Bailey Kuhns became the first NEC player to score 30 points in a game after she dropped 32 against Cornell on Wednesday.
1 - Forward Bailey Kuhns made Mercyhurst history by becoming the Lakers’ first player to win a weekly women’s basketball award.
4 - FDU Ava Renninger has earned three NEC Rookie of the Week awards and one NEC Player of the Week honor to lead the way with four weekly awards. 3 - Three rookies — Aiyanna Culvers (Chicago State) Lucia Noins (Central Connecticut), Megan Sias (Stonehill) — netted 20 point games last week.


#NECWBB FAST BREAK

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Ranking two-three among Blue Devils in scoring, rookies Selina Monestime and Dagny Slomack are combining to average 19.3 ppg.

CHICAGO STATE: Rookie guard Aiyanna Culver has netted twin figures in all but two games to lead Chicago State in scoring with 12.0 ppg.

FDU: FDU, which was idle this past week, has held each of its four mid-major opponents below the 60-point threshold this season.

LE MOYNE: In her return to the Dolphins’ lineup, junior guard Sierra Linnin knocked down seven threes and averaged 10.5 points in two games.

LIU: LIU’s win over Northeastern on Sunday marked the Sharks’ first vs. a CAA opponent since an 85-46 win over Hofstra on Nov. 30, 2019.

MERCYHURST: Mercyhurst junior forward Bailey Kuhns became the first NEC player to hit the 30-point mark (32) against Cornell on Wednesday.

SAINT FRANCIS U: Assisting on a season-best 21 of 27 buckets, Saint Francis U scored a season-high 71 points in Sunday’s defeat at Duquesne.

STONEHILL: Stonehill leads the NEC with 67.9 points per game, nearly a 16-point improvement from last year’s average of 52.2 ppg. 

WAGNER: Wagner sophomore Lijirin Doyinsola Modesayor leads the league’s top shot-blocking team with an NEC-best 1.4 rejections per game.

#NECWBB NEWS & NOTES FROM WEEK #4

WHAT’S ON TAP?
All nine NEC squads will hit the hardwood for the first full week of December. 

After a week-long hiatus, FDU returns to action looking to improve upon its league-best 5-2 non-conference mark with two road games. The Knights take on Lafayette on Wednesday before they head to Rider on Sunday.

Chicago State continues its grueling non-conference slate with two more challenges. Already facing the likes of Iowa State, Butler, Florida and Arizona, the Cougars have Bradley (Tuesday) and Mississippi State (Sunday) on the docket for this week.

DIRTY THIRTY
Mercyhurst forward Brady Kuhns (Mount Pleasant, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic) has scored at an elite level all season, but this past week, she took it to an entirely new level.

The Keystone State product became the first NEC player this season to eclipse the 30-point plateau in the Lakers’ hard-fought, 64-63 overtime loss to Cornell. In fact, she accounted for more than half of her team’s scoring after netting 32 points on 60.0 percent shooting from the field (15-of-30).

Kuhns’ outing is ranked 32nd among all NCAA Division I players, while her 15 makes from the field are tied for the most in a game in the nation this season. 

A RARE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
In addition to dropping the first 30-point performance by an NEC player this season, Mercyhurst forward Brady Kuhns (Mount Pleasant, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic) pulled down 10 rebounds to compile her first double-double of the season, and the first for a Laker at the Division I level.

The double-double behind the strength of a 30-point outing has been quite rare in the conference as of late. Just three other players have accomplished the feat in the past five years.

Current FDU center/forward Teneisia Brown was the last player to do so (Montego Bay, Jamaica/Mount Vernon/St. Andrew’s (Merrimack)) with 30 and 10 in the NEC semifinals against LIU (March 11), while in 2019, Wagner’s Emilja Krista-Grava turend the trick with 45 points and 11 boards against Saint Peter’s (Nov. 13) and Denia Davis-Stewart had a triple-double on 31 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks against UMass (Nov. 5).

ROOKIE TAKEOVERS
NEC rookies have netted some impressive performances in the early part of the 2024-25 season. 

In the 16 games that were played last week, first-year players led their respective teams in scoring six times.

Here’s a list of those top rookie performances last week:

Aiyanna Culver (Chicago State) - 16 points vs. Oklahoma State (Nov. 25)
Selina Monestime (Central Connecticut) - 15 points vs. Siena (Nov. 26)
Megan Sias (Stonehill) - 23 points vs. Maine (Nov. 26)
Aiyanna Culver (Chicago State) - 20 points vs. Tulsa (Nov. 27)
Lucia Noin (Central Connecticut) - 20 points vs. Bridgeport (Nov. 29)
Elle Johansson (Wagner) - 10 points vs. Sacramento State (Dec. 1)

LIU’S FIRST IN FIVE
LIU took down a CAA opponent for the first time in five years this past weekend.

With just seven seconds remaining, junior Amaya Dowdy (Woonsocket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy (UMass Lowell)) converted on a layup to break open a 61-61 deadlock and propel the Sharks to their second triumph of the season by way of a two-point win over visiting Northeastern.

The Sharks’ last defeat of a CAA squad came by way of an 85-46 defeat of Hofstra on Nov. 30, 2019).

NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Co-Player of the Week Surviva Legions (Brooklyn, NY/Mansfield Legacy (Southern)), a transfer from Southern, dropped a career-high 21 points in the outing, while Janessa Williams (Lake Worth, FL/The King’s Academy), who pulled down seven points to go along with 11 boards, hit the game-tying triple with 61 seconds remaining.
 
FDU’S HIGH-SCORING ROOKIE
FDU guard Ava Rennington (Yardley, PA/Archbishop Wood) has certainly turned heads in her debut season in Hackensack. 

Netting double figures in all but one her appearances — including a recent 19-point outing at UConn last month (Nov. 19) — she is ranked third in the conference in scoring. Most impressively, the Keystone State native’s 14.9 points per game are the 12th-most amongst all NCAA Division I rookies.

The four-time NEC weekly award winner is also third in the NEC in field goal percentage (.440), while her 13 triples this season are tied for the fifth-most in the conference this year. 

WINDY CITY SCORER
Another rookie has displayed scoring prowess in the early part of the season, with this one hailing from Chicago State.

Guard Aiyanna Culvers (Queens, NY), has been on a tear as of late. Since averaging 9.3 ppg in her first four outings as a collegiate, she has gone off for 14.8 points a night over her past four games.

On Monday against Oklahoma State, the frosh poured in a career-high 16 points to pace the Cougars’ scoring in the defeat. Two days later, she established yet another career-best performance, this time dropping 20 points against Tulsa on Wednesday.

Culvers has been on a tear from three-point range as well. She opened the season with seven makes in 21 attempts (33.3 percent), but has since shot the rock at a 11-of-23 clip from long range for 47.8 percent.

Averaging 12.0 ppg, Culvers is one of two NEC rookies to lead their respective teams in scoring, joining FDU’s Ava Rennington. 

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
Stonehill senior guard Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania/Marist Regional College) is enjoying her twenties.

But we aren’t talking about her age, here.

Becoming the first NEC hooper to string together consecutive 20-point outings after turning the trick against Utah Tech (22 points) and UNLV (20 points), the Tasmanian-born sharp shooter accomplished the feat once again last week to make it back-to-back-to-back games with 20-or-more points.

Draining five three pointers, Hayward put up 21 against Bryant (Nov. 22).  

Prior to this season, Hayward, who has netted twin figures in all but two games and is second in the NEC in scoring with 15.4 ppg, had just a pair of 20-point outings to her name. 

KUHNS CONTINUES SCORE
Mercyhurst junior Brady Kuhns (Mount Pleasant, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic) has made the transition to Division I look pretty easy.

The forward has poured in the points and has performed at an elite level against some stiff competition this season.

Her Division I debut featured a 20-point performance in the Lakers’ season opener, a date at Notre Dame, who knocked off USC last month. She followed that game with a 16-point outing two days later at Big East foe DePaul. When facing another Big East opponent in Xavier (Nov. 15), Kuhns was once again up for the challenge, as she dropped 16 points.

Last week, Kuhns extended her NEC-best double-digit scoring rally to seven games after becoming the first player in the circuit to drop 30 points (32) in a hard-fought overtime defeat to Cornell.  

Against high-major competition this season, she is averaging 17.3 points per contest, while on the year, she leads the conference with 19.6 points per game, which ranks 29th among all Division I players.

FLIPPING THE SWITCH?
Amidst its third year as an NEC and Division I member, Stonehill has certainly elevated its offense in 2024-25.

The Skyhawks have netted 70-or-more points four times this season, including an 89-point effort in a win against Utah Tech last month that went down as the program’s best offensive outing since making the jump to Division I in 2022-23.

After putting up 52.2 points per game in 2023-24 to rank towards the bottom of the league statistics in the category, Stonehill is currently averaging 67.9 points per game on 42.5 percent shooting as a team — and a league-leading 34.7 percent clip from three — to rank atop of the NEC in scoring.

HIGH FIVES FOR FDU
After opening the campaign with a 4-0 record for the program’s best start since 1991-92, FDU hit a pair of road blocks when it went up against ACC member Syracuse and Big East power UConn. But most recently, the Knights   were quick to get back on track as they tore through another mid-major opponent by way of a 67-50 win over Saint Peter’s. 

Sitting atop the league standings with a 5-2 overall record, the Knights have now won five of their first seven games twice in the past three years, as they also accomplished the feat in 2022-23.

FDU’S REVENGE TOUR
It may be early, but it seems that a lot has changed in Hackensack in just one short year.

Opening the season with a win over Division II member Dominican, the Knights hit the road and knocked off American (62-59) followed by former NEC member Mount St. Mary’s (63-59). A year ago, FDU lost to both of those teams — at home — by respective 63-57 and 64-50 finals. 

The Knights’ revenge tour continued into the second week of the season, as FDU avenged last season’s 49-44 loss to Bucknell by defeating the Bison, 67-56, earlier this month.

GAITLEY’S BIG MILESTONE
FDU second-year head coach Stephanie Gaitley picked up her 700th career victory as a Division I women’s basketball coach last month when her Knights scored a nail-biting road 62-59 victory at American (Nov. 8).

Gaitley, who ranks sixth in victories among all active NCAA women’s basketball coach with 703 triumphs, became the 17th coach in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history to reach the 700-win plateau. In addition, the 39th-year head coach is the first to turn the trick while coaching at six different programs throughout her career, and she is just the second to record 700 victories without making a stop at a Power Five program.

Gaitley has spent 11 of her 39 years as a head coach in the NEC with stops at LIU Brooklyn (2002-2008), Monmouth (2008-2011) and FDU (2023-present). She led Monmouth to the NEC title game and a WNIT appearance, and piloted LIU Brooklyn to a first-place finish and a WNIT berth.

PERFECTION FOR BABORE
FDU graduate guard Abaigeal Babore (Merchantville, NJ/Paul VI (Eckerd)) has been spot on from the free-throw line this season, going a perfect 18-of-18 over five games this season.

She is one of five players in NCAA Division I to own a perfect shooting percentage from the charity stripe this season.


2024-25 NEC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nov. 11: Teneisia Brown (FDU)
Nov. 18: Sharn Hayward (Stonehill)
Nov. 25: Ava Renninger (FDU)
Dec. 2: Sirviva Legions (LIU) & Bailey Kuhns (MU)
Dec. 9: 

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Nov. 11: Ava Renninger (FDU)
Nov. 18: Ava Renninger (FDU)
Nov. 25: Ava Renninger (FDU)
Dec. 2: Megan Sias (STO)
Dec. 9: