NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tenesia Brown, FDU
Center/Forward, Graduate Student, 6-2, Montego Bay, Jamaica/Mount Vernon/St. Andrew’s (Merrimack)
Brown became the first NEC player to repeat as NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Player of the Week this season. Earning the distinction for the first time in 2024-25 following a pair of standout performances during opening week, the dominant center/forward doubled her total after she became the first player in the circuit this season to string together double-doubles in consecutive outings. Dropping 15 points and 10 rebounds in FDU’s 69-62 victory at Lafayette on Wednesday, Brown turned the trick again in Sunday’s 62-54 win with 19 points and 10 boards. In addition to her stellar numbers, she was clutch in crunch time for the Knights as her old-fashion three-point play with 30 seconds left to play sealed the win against the Leopards. On the week, the Jamaican-born graduate student averaged 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game on 42.1 percent shooting (16-of-28). Shooting the rock at a 49.5 percent clip this season, Brown is nearly averaging a double-double with 12.0 points and a league-leading 9.0 boards per contest.

NEC/ATLANTIC TOMORROW'S OFFICE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Ava Renninger, FDU
Guard, Freshman, 5-6, Yardley, PA/Archbishop Wood
After a one-week hiatus, Renninger retained her status as the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Rookie of the Week on Monday. With her league-leading fourth honor, the standout freshman has taken home five weekly awards from the NEC, having also received NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Player of the Week distinction on Nov. 25. Renninger put together another impressive week for FDU, which improved to 7-2 on the season with road wins at Lafayette and Rider. Combining to shoot a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line, the Keystone State product averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 34.0 minutes per game. Her week was highlighted by a 19-point, eight-rebound performance in Wednesday’s 69-62 win against the Leopards. On the season, Renninger, who has put up double figure seven times this season, is second in the conference in scoring with 14.6 points per game, which ranks 13th among all NCAA Division I rookies. 


NEC PRIME PERFORMERS

Josie Hill, CSU (C, Jr.)
Hill, a junior center, shot 50.0 percent from the field in her lone appearance of the week, a defeat to SEC member Mississippi State on Sunday. Registering a season-high four steals, the South Dakota product extended her double-figure scoring streak to four games after she went 6-of-12 from the floor for 14 points.
 
Tenesia Brown, FDU (F/C, Gr.)
Brown became the first NEC player to string together double-doubles in consecutive games this season when she turned the trick in FDU’s two wins against Lafayette on Wednesday and Rider on Sunday. Sealing the victory against the Leopards with a crucial three-point play with 30 seconds left, the graduate forward/center averaged 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds last week for the Knights. Brown was also pegged the NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Player of the Week. 
 
Lilly Parke, FDU (F, Jr.)
Combining to shoot 55.0 percent from long range (6-of-11), Parke averaged 13.0 points on 52.6 percent shooting from the field (10-of-19) last week to help lead FDU to a pair of road wins at Lafayette and Rider on Wednesday and Sunday. The junior forward also contributed 6.5 rebounds per contest during that stretch. 
 
Haedyn Roberts, LEM (F, Gr.)
Roberts averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 boards, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block in 31.5 minutes per game for Le Moyne, which dropped a 60-55 decision to Boston University on Thursday and a 69-56 decision to UMass Lowell on Saturday. The junior forward was stellar against the Terriers, converting on 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc for a game- and season-high 23 points. 
 
Bailey Kuhns, MU (F, Jr.)
Kuhns, the NEC’s top scorer, had another elite offensive performance in Mercyhurst’s slim 70-66 defeat to Toledo on Friday. The junior forward drained 10-of-18 shots from the field — including 2-of-4 from long range — to lead all players with 25 points. 
 
Allyson Ross, MU (G, Sr.)
Ross’ hot hand from the field resulted in a season-best offensive performance for the senior guard. Draining 7-of-10 shots from the floor, including a sizzling 5-of-7 from behind the arc, the veteran guard finished with 19 points in Mercyhurst’s hard-fought 70-66 defeat to Toledo on Friday. 
 
Jade Campbell, SFU (F, Jr.)
Campbell registered the most boards by an NEC player in a game this season after she pulled down a career-high 19 in Saint Francs U’s win over Delaware State on Thursday. Adding 16 points in the victory, which also marked a career-best effort, the junior forward averaged a double-double on the week (10.5 points, 12.5 rebounds) after she had four points and six rebounds against UMBC on Sunday. 
 
Kylie Swider, STO (C, Gr.)
Swider came one rebound shy of a double-double in Stonehill’s defeat at Brown on Thursday. The graduate center scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half after she went 6-of-9 from the field during that opening stretch.
 
Julia Fabozzi, WC (G, Gr.)
Fabozzi registered her first double-double of the season in Wagner’s defeat at Lafayette on Sunday. Going the distance in the non-conference affair, the graduate center pulled down a season-high 13 boards while adding a team-high 16 points.


#NECWBB BY THE NUMBERS

6 - FDU, which is 7-2 to start the season, owns a perfect 6-0 record against mid-major opponents this season.
2 - Mercyhurst forward Bailey Kuhns occupies the top two spots of the NEC’s single-game scoring list with 32 points vs. Cornell and 25 points vs. Toledo.
5 - FDU Ava Renninger has earned four NEC Rookie of the Week awards and one NEC Player of the Week honor to lead the way with five weekly awards.
19 - Saint Francis U junior Jade Campbell pulled down 19 boards against Delaware State, the most by an NEC player this season.


#NECWBB FAST BREAK

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Central Connecticut rookies are accounting for more than 40.0 percent of the Blue Devils’ scoring this season.

CHICAGO STATE: With 87 steals, Chicago State leads all NEC teams this season, averaging 7.91 per game.

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

LE MOYNE: Junior Haedyn Roberts scored 23 points — the most by a Dolphin this season — in Le Moyne’s five-point defeat to Boston University.

LIU: LIU’s defense has forced 23.5 turnovers per game in their past two outings against Northeastern (24) and Fordham (23).

MERCYHURST: Combining to shoot a league-best 41.8 percent as a team, Mercyhurst leads the NEC with 66.0 points per night.

SAINT FRANCIS U: Saint Francis U has doubled its non-conference win total from 2023-24 with triumphs over Robert Morris and Delaware State.

STONEHILL: Stonehill is the only team in the league that has three players averaging 11-or-more points this season. 

WAGNER: Wagner averages 3.75 blocks per game to lead the NEC in the category.

#NECWBB NEWS & NOTES FROM WEEK #5

WHAT’S ON TAP?
Eight of nine NEC squads will see the court this week, with Central Connecticut being the only team that is not slated to play a game. FDU looks to make it three-in-a-row on Wednesday, when the Knights head to nearby Piscataway for a Garden State matchup against Big Ten foe Rutgers. 

FDU VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
FDU remained perfect against the Patriot League this season. Taking down American and Bucknell last month, the Knights made it a perfect 3-0 record against squads from that conference after they defeated Lafayette by a 69-62 final. In each of those games, FDU held opponents to 62 points or fewer. 

KNIGHTS SLAY THE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
For the second time in the past three years, and the fourth time in program history, the Knights are 7-2 to begin the 2024-25 campaign. The seven wins in the first nine games marks the program’s best start since FDU joined the NEC in 1988-89. The Knights also went 7-2 in 2017-18 and 1991-92.

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 and perennial power UConn, which was ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time of the game.

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 only player in the conference averaging 20-or-more points, the junior leads the league in scoring by a longshot with 20.3 ppg, 5.7 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 eight games after she scored 25 points against Toledo on Friday (Dec. 6).

Kuhns, who led Division II Mercyhurst with 14.3 points per game in 2023-24, ranks 22nd among all Division I competitors in scoring this season.  

HEY NINETEEN
Saint Francis U junior Jade Campbell (Brooklyn, NY/Medgar Evers College Prep School) went to boarding school in her team’s win over Delaware State on Thursday. The forward pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds, marking the most by an NEC player this season.

Missing the entire 2023-24 campaign and the first six games of this season with an injury, Campbell added a career-best 17 points against the Hornets to finish with a double-double. The performance marked the biggest eye-popping stat game for a Red Flash player since Aaliyah Moore registered 14 points and 20 boards at Merrimack on March 6, 2023.

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 seven of nine games, and has pulled down twin figures in rebounds four times.

A native of Jamaica, Brown leads all NEC players with three double-doubles while on the season, she is nearly averaging one with 12.0 points and a league-leading 9.0 boards per game. Most recently, she became the first player this season to put up double-doubles in back-to-back games last week after leading FDU to wins against Lafayette and Rider.

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 against Cornell last month to compile her first double-double of the season, and the first for a Laker at the Division I level.

A double-double fueled by a 30-point outing has been a rare occurence 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 (Montego Bay, Jamaica/Mount Vernon/St. Andrew’s (Merrimack)) was the last player to do so 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).

LEAPS AND BOUNDS
A year has made all the difference for LIU sophomore guard Janessa Williams (Lake Worth, FL/The King’s Academy).

Just nine games into the 2024-25 campaign, the Sunshine State product is just six points away from matching last season’s point total of 107. In addition, she has already bested last year’s three-point field goal total of five with 14, while her scoring average has more than tripled from 3.6 to 11.2 points per game.

Williams has put up double figures in scoring five times this season. Last season, she hit that mark on just two occasions. 
 
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 two of her appearances — including a recent 19-point outing at UConn last month (Nov. 19) — she is second third in the conference in scoring. Most impressively, the Keystone State native’s 14.9 points per game are the 13th-most amongst all NCAA Division I rookies.

The five-time NEC weekly award winner is also fourth in the NEC in field goal percentage (.417). 

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 on Wednesday.

On the season, the Knights are limiting opponents to 62.1 points per game, which is good for first in the NEC. In addition, competitors are shooting just 39.5 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 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 65.0 points per game on 41.5 percent shooting as a team to rank second 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 705 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: 

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: