NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Belle Lanpher, Central Connecticut
Guard, Graduate Student, 5-5, Princeton, MA/Wachusett Regional
Lanpher’s highly anticipated return to the court this season has not been a disappointing one. Missing the first 10 games of 2024-25 with an injury, the Preseason All-NEC selection did not skip a beat this past week, averaging 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in a pair of games. Most impressively, Lanpher converted on 54.8 percent of her shots from the field (17-of-31), including 50.0 percent of her three-pointers (5-of-10) during that stretch. Lanpher, who scored 13 points in her first game back against Morgan State earlier this month, went off for a game-high 27 points in a hard-fought 61-59 defeat to Dartmouth on Monday. Shooting 60.0 percent (9-of-15) while going 3-of-5 from long range and 6-of-6 from the line, the 5-foot-5 graduate guard added seven rebounds and four dimes against the Big Green. Four days later, Lanpher became the first Blue Devil this season to net 20 points in back-to-back games when she led all scorers with 22 points at Boston College on Friday. Going 50.0 percent from the field against the Eagles, she finished 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to finish 10-for-10 on the week. The Princeton, MA native leads the NEC in scoring with 20.7 points per game on 44.9 percent shooting from the field.
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 doubled her NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week award total after she averaged 7.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in Stonehill’s 1-1 week. Coming off the bench to drop 10 points at Northeastern, the 6-foot-1 center/forward was one of five Skyhawks to net double figures in Wednesday’s convincing 65-49 win. In that victory, Sias also contributed four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Later in the week, the Garden State product had five points and a team-best four rebounds at Big East opponent Marquette on Saturday. With four double-figure scoring games this season, Sias is ranked fourth on the team in scoring with 8.0 points per game, while her 4.1 boards per contest are also good for fourth among fellow Skyhawks. This is the second time this month that the freshman brings home a weekly award.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Belle Lanpher, CCSU (G, Gr.)
Lanpher went off for back-to-back 20-point outings behind the strength of 54.8 percent shooting (17-of-31) to lead all NEC scorers last week. The graduate guard averaged 24.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game after netting a season-best 27 points against Dartmouth on Monday and 22 points at Boston College on Friday. Lanpher was also pegged the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week.
Josie Hill, CSU (C, Jr.)
Hill notched double figures in each of Chicago State’s three games last week to extend her double-digit scoring streak to eight games. Averaging 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds on 47.4 percent shooting from the field (18-of-38), the junior center’s week was highlighted by a 20-point effort in a hard-fought overtime defeat to Loyola Chicago on Tuesday and a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) against SMU on Friday.
Teneisia Brown, FDU (F/C, Gr.)
Brown registered the most points and rebounds in a single game by a Knight this season when she netted 26 points on 78.6 percent shooting from the field (11-of-14) and grabbed 15 rebounds in a win over Saint Michael’s on Thursday. The double-double marked the graduate forward/center’s league-leading fourth of the season.
Sierra Linnin, LEM (G, Jr.)
In 16 minutes, Linnin drained five three-pointers on 71.4 percent shooting from deep for a team-high 15 points in Le Moyne’s defeat to Colgate on Saturday. It marked a season-best effort in scoring for the junior guard.
Janessa Williams, LIU (G, So.)
Williams shot 54.0 percent from the floor (7-of-13) to finish with a season-high 18 points in LIU’s defeat at VCU on Saturday. Coming one rebound shy of registering her second double-double of the season, the sophomore guard had a hot hand from three with a season-best four makes.
Bailey Kuhns, MU (F, Jr.)
The NEC’s top scorer went back to work this week in Mercyhurst’s overtime defeat to Mount St. Mary’s on Monday. Going 50.0 percent from the field (8-of-16) to eclipse the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season with 25 points, the junior forward grabbed 10 boards for her second double-double in as many games.
Allyson Ross, MU (G, Sr.)
Ross was one of two Lakers to net 20-plus points in Mercyhurst’s tough overtime loss to Mount St. Mary’s on Monday. Pulling down a game-best 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season, the veteran guard went 66.7 percent from the field (10-of-16), including 5-of-10 from long range, to finish with a game- and season-high 26 points.
Sharn Hayward, STO (G, Sr.)
Hayward averaged 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in a 1-1 week for Stonehill. Netting 12 points to lead five Skyhawks in double figures while adding four boards and three assists in a 65-49 win at Northeastern on Wednesday, the senior guard capped off the week with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting at Marquette on Saturday.
Taleah Washington, WC (G, Gr.)
In her season debut against Columbia on Saturday, Washington led all Seahawks with 15 points in the defeat. The graduate guard added a pair of steals and seven assists.
#NECWBB BY THE NUMBERS
1 - Missing just one shot from the charity stripe this season, FDU graduate guard Abaigeal Babore ranks first in the nation in free throw percentage (.974).
23 - Mercyhurst junior Bailey Kuhns is just one of 23 players in NCAA Division I that is averaging 20-plus points per game (20.0 ppg).
4 - FDU graduate forward/center Teneisia Brown complied her league-leading fourth double-double of the season vs. Saint Michael’s.
2 - Stonehill became the second NEC team to defeat CAA opponent Northeastern this season, joining LIU.
#NECWBB FAST BREAK
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Graduate guard Belle Lanpher became the first Blue Devil this season to net back-to-back 20-plus point games.
CHICAGO STATE: Junior center Josie Hill has netted double figures in scoring in each of her past eight appearances.
FDU: Draining a season-high 15 threes, FDU shot a season-best 50.7 percent from the field (35-of-69) on Thursday vs. Saint Michael’s.
LE MOYNE: Junior guard Sierra Linnin has drained three-or-more triples in four of her six games, including a season-best five vs. Colgate.
LIU: When scoring 60-or-more points, LIU is a perfect 3-0 with wins vs. Cal State Fullerton, Northeastern and Delaware State.
MERCYHURST: Junior Bailey Kuhns and senior Allyson Ross became the first NEC teammates to notch double-doubles in the same game this year.
SAINT FRANCIS U: Saint Francis U doubled its non-conference win total from 2023-24 this season with triumphs over Robert Morris and Delaware State.
STONEHILL: Stonehill has matched last season’s win total of four with victories over Emmanuel, Utah Tech, Dartmouth and Northeastern.
WAGNER: Registering three-or-more swipes five times, rookie Keana Foz is the only NEC player averaging at least two steals per game with 2.2.
#NECWBB NEWS & NOTES FROM WEEK #7
WHAT’S ON TAP?
Six teams hit the court for final tune-ups before NEC play begins on Jan. 2. FDU, which has won a league-leading eight non-conference games, concludes its out-of-league slate with a pair of matchups against Maine and Bryant. Le Moyne also takes the hardwood twice before the end of the calendar year when it faces Buffalo and Princeton. Wagner (Old Westbury), Stonehill (New Hampshire), Mercyhurst (Allegheny) and LIU (NJIT) round out the action with their final non-conference games of the year.
CLOSE CALLS
The first three games of the penultimate week of the 2024-25 non-conference slate were all nailbiters. Two of those contests needed overtime to decide a winner, while two were decided by just two points.
Central Connecticut got the week going with a hard-fought, morning matchup against visiting Dartmouth. In a back-and-forth battle between the two New England squads, graduate student Belle Lanpher (Princeton, MA/Wachusett Regional) hit a huge three-pointer to pull the Blue Devils within one (60-59) with 9.1 seconds to go. With Central Connecticut forced to foul, the Big Green, who split a pair of free throws to push the lead to 61-59 with 1.9 seconds remaining, held on for the win as the Blue Devils were unable to get a shot off in the final seconds.
Monday’s nightcap featuring Mercyhurst against Mount St. Mary’s also went down to the wire. With five minutes remaining, senior guard Allyson Ross (Columbia Station, OH/Columbia), who was one of two Mercyhurst ballers to compile a double-double, gave the Lakers their first lead of the night with her fourth triple of the game. Mercyhurst took a two-point advantage into the final seconds of the game thanks to a Ross layup, but the Mountaineers forced overtime with a pair of free throws with no time left on the clock. In the extra session, Mount St. Mary’s held the upperhand, sealing the win by going 4-of-6 from the field with four free throws.
The final heartbreaker came by way of Chicago State’s 70-68 overtime setback at Loyola on Tuesday night. A late 9-0 Loyola charge erased the Cougars’ lead and put the Ramblers up by two before sophomore forward Kace Urlacher (Palatine, IL/IUPUI) made two free throws to force overtime. In the extra session, Chicago State, which cut a six-point deficit in half on a Josie Hill (Rapid City, South Dakota) three with 37 seconds left, had a chance to tie after earning a defensive stop, but settled for a two in the final seconds. Loyola split a pair of free throws with moments left on the clock to seal the triumph.
BELLE BUCKETS IS BACK
Central Connecticut graduate guard Belle Lanpher (Princeton, MA/Wachusett Regional) missed the first 10 games of the season with an injury, but in her return earlier this month, the Preseason All-NEC pick has not missed a beat.
Lanpher, who scored 13 points in her first game back against Morgan State, was back to her bucket-getting ways last week. The Princeton, MA native dropped a game-high 27 points — three off her career high — on Monday in a hard-fought 61-59 defeat to Dartmouth. She shot 60.0 percent from the field in that game, including 3-of-5 from long range.
Four days later at ACC foe Boston College, Lanpher put together another brilliant outing. Turning in a 50.0 percent effort from the floor (8-of-16), she became the first Blue Devil to string together consecutive 20-point games after she finished with 22 to lead all scorers.
During the week, Lanpher combined to go 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
Lanpher is averaging 20.7 points per game, a number that leads the conference. She is not listed in the league statistics, though, as she has not played in 75.0 percent of her team’s games.
DOUBLE THE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Mercyhurst senior guard Allyson Ross (Columbia Station, OH/Columbia) and junior forward Bailey Kuhns (Mount Pleasant, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic) became the first teammates this season to net double-doubles in the same game last week against Mount St. Mary’s.
Ross, who led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and a 5-of-10 clip from behind the arc, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to complete her first double-double of the season. Kuhns, who has scored in double figures in every game this season, tallied her third double-double after she checked in with 25 points and 10 boards.
SKYHAWKS SOAR TO A NEW LEVEL
Less than one week after they posted the program’s largest margin of victory by way of a commanding 75-43 win against Dartmouth, the Skyhawks added another solid win to their count on Tuesday.
Landing five players in double figures, including four starters, Stonehill downed CAA opponent Northeastern by a 65-49 final. Senior guard Sharn Hayward (Penguin, Tasmania/Marist Regional College), senior forward Maureen Stapleton (Spring Lake Heights, NJ/St. Rose) and graduate center Kylie Swider (Portsmouth, RI/Tabor Academy (Villanova)) dropped 12 points apiece, with Stapleton adding a game-best 11 boards for her second double-double of the season.
Stonehill has four wins — including three against Division I competitors — which ties the program mark for most non-conference victories. The 2022 squad earned four wins outside of the league slate (Hartford, New Hampshire, Bryant and Queens (NY).
DIME DROPPER
It’s the season of giving, especially for FDU graduate guard Abby Conklin (Irvington, NY/Irvington). In the Knights’ 91-52 win over Saint Michael’s on Thursday, she dropped a season-high 11 dimes, marking the most by an NEC baller this season. In addition, Conklin put up 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and a 3-of-6 clip from long range to become the first NEC player in 2024-25 to compile a double-double on points and assists.
FINE FROM THE LINE
As a team, Stonehill is combining to shoot 81.2 percent from the free throw line (125-of-154), which is the fifth highest percentage in the nation.
No Skyhawk is shooting worse than 75.0 percent from the charity stripe this season.
ALMOST PERFECT
FDU graduate guard Abaigeal Babore (Merchantville, NJ/Paul VI (Eckerd)) has been near perfect from the line this season.
Beginning the season by draining each of her first 19 free throw attempts, she has since gone 18-for-18 from the charity stripe. Babore is 37-of-38 for 97.4 percent, which is the best free-throw percentage in NCAA Division I.
KNIGHTS SLAY THE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
With an 8-3 record, FDU has tied the mark the second-best start in program history. With this season included, the Knights have won eight of their first 11 games twice, with the other time occuring in 2017-18. The 1991-92 squad, which won the NEC tournament championship, owns the top mark after starting the season with a 9-2 record.
Most impressively, the Knights are 6-0 against mid-major foes, while their only two losses of the season have come to ACC foe Syracuse, perennial power UConn, which was ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time of the game, and Big Ten member Rutgers.
KUHNS CAN SCORE
Mercyhurst junior Brady Kuhns (Mount Pleasant, PA/Greensburg Central Catholic) has quickly established herself as an elite scorer in her debut season in the NEC.
The junior leads the league in scoring by a longshot with 20.0 ppg, 3.3 more than the next closest competitor.
What’s more impressive is that Kuhns is putting up some impressive numbers against stiff competition. She scored 20 points in her Division I debut, a date at Notre Dame, and followed that game up with respective 16-point outings against Big East foes De Paul and Xavier.
Most recently, Kuhns, who dropped an NEC single-game-best 32 points in an overtime defeat to Cornell, extended her league-best double-digit scoring rally to 10 games after she scored 25 points against Mount St. Mary’s last week.
Kuhns, who led Division II Mercyhurst with 14.3 points per game in 2023-24, ranks 20th among all Division I competitors in scoring this season.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
FDU center/forward Teneisia Brown (Montego Bay, Jamaica/Mount Vernon/St. Andrew’s (Merrimack)) is living up all preseason expectations in the early part of the 2024-25 campagin.
The 2024 All-NEC first teamer and 2024-25 Preseason All-NEC member has put up double figures in scoring in nine of 11 games, and has pulled down twin figures in rebounds five times.
A native of Jamaica, Brown leads all NEC players and is ranked 44th in the nation with four double-doubles while on the season, she is nearly averaging one with 13.1 points and a league-leading 9.2 boards per game.
LEAPS AND BOUNDS
A year has made all the difference for LIU sophomore guard Janessa Williams (Lake Worth, FL/The King’s Academy).
Just 13 games into the 2024-25 campaign, the Sunshine State product has already surpassed last season’s point total of 107 with 146. In addition, she has already bested last year’s three-point field goal total of five with 24, while her scoring average has more than tripled from 3.6 to 12.2 points per game.
Williams has put up double figures in scoring eight times this year, including each of her past five outings. Last season, she hit that mark on just two occasions. In addition, she has pulled down nine or more rebounds four times and is LIU’s leader in the category wtih 6.9 per contest this season.
DEE-FENCE
FDU has held five of six mid-major opponents below the 60-point threshold this season. The only team to buck the trend was Lafayette, which squeaked out 62 points in FDU’s seven-point victory earlier this month.
On the season, the Knights are limiting opponents to 63.1 points per game, which is good for first in the NEC. In addition, competitors are shooting just 39.6 percent from the field, which is also a league-leading mark.
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 five 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 62.9 points per game on conference-best 40.1 percent shooting as a team to rank third in the NEC in scoring.
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 706 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.
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: Teneisia Brown (FDU)
Dec. 16: Sharn Hayward (STO)
Dec. 23: Belle Lanpher (CCSU)
Dec. 30:
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: Ava Renninger (FDU)
Dec. 16: Keana Foz (WC)
Dec. 23: Megan Sians (STO)
Dec. 30: