NEW YORK | The 11 Skyline Conference women's basketball head coaches have cast their votes on the 2021-22 edition of the all-conference team, and Mount Saint Mary College grad student forward, Morina Bojka has been selected as Player of the Year.
Bojka's teammate and senior guard Toriana Tabasco was selected as Co-Defensive Player of the Year, along with U.S. Merchant Marine Academy freshman guard/forward Grace Jackson -- who doubled as Rookie of the Year in the tally. Mount Saint Mary third-year mentor Colleen Ames was tabbed as Coach of the Year in voting by her peers.
Named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2022 Skyline Conference Women's Basketball Championship after guiding the top-seeded Knights to their first title in 10 years, Bojka enters this week's 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship with a .452 field goal percentage that ranks No. 2 in the conference leaders, along wth the sixth-best mark of 18.3 points per outing. She leads MSMC with 55 steals on the defensive end of the floor, while ranking second on her side in blocked shots (12), rebounding (8.1/gm.) assists (67) and 3-point field goals made (30).
Tabasco routinely matched up with the opposition's top perimeter player for the Knights, swiping 28 steals through conference championship play. She helped a Mount Saint Mary defense that ranks tops in the conference in turnover margin (plus-7.5 per game), fourth in scoring defense (56.5 ppg) and fifth in field-goal percentage defense (.346).
Jackson was instrumental for the Mariners on both ends of the floor, including top-five ranks in steals (2.6/gm.) and blocked shots (1.1/gm.) on a defense that topped the Skyline in points allowed (50.4 ppg), field-goal percentage defense (.321) and rebounding margin (plus-14.6/gm.). She also ranked third on the conference leaderboard in scoring (20.0 ppg), fourth in rebounding (10.4 rpg) and third in free-throw percentage (76-of-93, .817).
A native of Lindenhurst, N.Y., Ames has posted an impressive 43-9 mark (.827) at Mount Saint Mary since taking over as bench boss prior to the 2019-20 campaign -- including a 37-3 ledger (.925) in regular-season conference action. The SUNY New Paltz alumna came to Newburgh after a two-year stint at Clarkson University, where she served as interim head coach during the 2018-19 slate.
Below is the complete 2021-22 Skyline Conferene Women's Basketball All-Conference Team:
First Team
Alyssa Adomaites, St. Joseph's-Long Island
Amber Been, Mount Saint Vincent
Morina Bojka, Mount Saint Mary
Ja'nya Flash, Old Westbury
Victoria Hanley, Mount Saint Vincent
Grace Jackson, USMMA
Second Team
Madison Demos, USMMA
Faith Johnson-Desilvia, Manhattanville
Samantha Muller, Farmingdale State
Kelly O'Donnell, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn
Spencer Shore, Manhattanville
Katie Smith, Mount Saint Mary
Player of the Year: Morina Bojka, Mount Saint Mary
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Grace Jackson, USMMA; Toriana Tabasco, Mount Saint Mary
Rookie of the Year: Grace Jackson, USMMA
Coach of the Year: Colleen Ames, Mount Saint Mary (third year)
All-Sportsmanship Team
Autumn Barnes, Farmingdale State
Jenn Balzarini, Manhattanville
Lauren Desrats, Mount Saint Mary
Catherine Amodio, Mount Saint Vincent
Kasiobi Okenwa, Old Westbury
Alyssa Aurora, Purchase
Jamie Provino, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn
Alyssa Signor, St. Joseph's-Long Island
Camryn Davis, Sarah Lawrence
Madison Reddick, USMMA
Gabriella Kuperferman, Yeshiva