Junior forward Margaux Pickell of NYU-Poly has been named the 2010-11 Skyline Women’s Basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference’s 10 head coaches.
The Skyline coaches also selected Old Westbury’s Kim Weathers as the Rookie of the Year and Jimmy Barrett of NYU-Poly as Coach of the Year. In addition, Sage received the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Pickell leads the Conference in rebounding (14.6 rpg.) and double-doubles (21) and ranks second in scoring with an average of 18.5 points per game. A native of Howell, N.J., the three-time Player of the Week selection leads NYU-Poly in blocks (51), while her 41-point outburst versus Yeshiva on Feb. 5 marks the most points scored by a Skyline student-athlete this season.
Weathers enters the Panthers’ contest at Rutgers-Newark on Mar. 2 in the first round of the ECAC Metro Region Championship atop the Skyline in scoring with an average of 20.8 points per game. A first-team All-Conference and seven-time Rookie of the Week selection, the Wyandanch, N.Y., resident ranks second in the league in steals (3.69 spg.), third in three-pointers made (51) and fifth in assists (4.08 apg.).
Now in his 10th season at NYU-Poly, Barrett has guided the Panthers to a program-best 19 wins as it prepares to face Brooklyn on Mar. 2 in the first round of the ECAC Metro Region Championship. NYU-Poly posted a 14-4 mark in league play and earned the second overall seed in the 2011 Skyline Conference Championship.
Joining Weathers on the All-Conference first-team are Mount Saint Mary teammates Amanda Horvers, Jen Mocanu and Jess Tice, as well as senior Kristin Leitheuser of NYU-Poly. Tice and Leitheuser garnered second-team distinction a year ago, while Horvers leads the Conference with 67 three-pointers made. A Bedford, N.J., resident, Mocanu was recently named the Most Valuable Player of the 2011 Skyline Tournament as she led the 23rd-ranked Knights to their 12th consecutive NCAA berth.
The second-team All-Conference consists of Amanda Bender of St. Joseph’s, Farmingdale State’s Nikita Green, Chelsea Martin of Sage, Rachel Perrone of Purchase and Bard’s Latiqua Williams.
2010-11 SKYLINE CONFERENCE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
First-Team
Amanda Horvers, Mount Saint Mary - Junior, Guard, Kingston, N.Y. (12.8 ppg., 3.7 rpg.)
Kristin Leitheuser, NYU-Poly - Senior, Guard/Forward, Pleasant Valley, N.Y. (16.4 ppg., 8.2 rpg.)
Jen Mocanu, Mount Saint Mary - Junior, Guard, Bedford, N.J. (13.6 ppg., 3.6 rpg.)
Jess Tice, Mount Saint Mary - Senior. Forward, Altamont, N.Y. (11.8 ppg., 6.7 rpg.)
Kim Weathers, Old Westbury - Freshman, Guard, Wyandanch, N.Y. (20.8 ppg., 4.1 rpg.)
Second-Team
Amanda Bender, St. Joseph’s-L.I. - Sophomore. Forward/Center, East Northport, N.Y. (14.3 ppg., 7.4 rpg.)
Nikita Green, Farmingdale State, Sophomore, Guard, Roosevelt, N.Y. (10.3 ppg., 2.3 rpg.)
Chelsea Martin, Sage - Freshman, Forward, Davenport, N.Y. (11.2 ppg., 6.8 rpg.)
Rachel Perrone, Purchase - Freshman, Forward/Center, Poughquag, N.Y. (16.1 ppg., 10.6 rpg.)
Latiqua Williams, Bard - Senior, Forward, Bay Shore, N.Y. (12.6 ppg., 11.9 rpg.)
Player of the Year: Margaux Pickell, NYU-Poly
Rookie of the Year: Kim Weathers, Old Westbury
Coach of the Year: Jimmy Barrett, NYU-Poly
Tournament MVP: Jen Mocanu, Mount Saint Mary
Team Sportsmanship Award: Sage