Wiley, Burns Take Top NECC WBB Honors

MARSHFIELD, Mass. – Four members of the Mitchell College women's basketball team were honored by the New England Collegiate Conference on Tuesday afternoon as the league announced its annual awards.

The Mariners took home two of the top awards as freshman Amina Wiley was named NECC Rookie of the Year and head coach Courtney Burns was tabbed NECC Coach of the Year.

Wiley also earned one of five spots on the all-conference first team. Junior Kelsey Hernandez and freshman Le'Sandra Turner also garnered all-conference recognition, earning third-team honors. The three all-conference selections were the most ever for the Mariners in a single season.

Freshman Ramzie Jones rounded out the honorees by landing a spot on the all-sportsmanship team. All awards were determined by a vote of the conference's head coaches.

Wiley becomes the second Mitchell player to earn rookie of the year honors and the first in a decade (Destiney Harris, 2009). She is also the first Mariner to earn all-conference first team honors since Alix O'Neil in 2011.

Burns becomes the third coach in program history to earn the top coaching honor, joining Cas Grygorcewicz (2009) and Bernadette Macca (2011). In her second season she guided the Mariners to a 15-3 NECC record and a tie for first place in the regular season standings.

Wiley averaged a near double-double in league play, recording 16.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game in 17 league contests. A five-time NECC Rookie of the Week honoree, she led the conference in field goal percentage (.582) while ranking third in rebounding and fifth in scoring.

Hernandez, a guard, played in 23 games and made 22 starts in her first season with the Mariners. She averaged 10.6 points per game and led the Mariners in three-point field goals (37) and three-point field goal percentage (.366).

Turner started all 25 games during the regular season and ranked second on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per contest. The first-year guard scored in double digits in 15 games and also led the Mariners in assists (88).

Jones saw action as a reserve in all 25 games, averaging 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest.

Mitchell (16-9 overall) will host seventh-seeded Elms College in the quarterfinals of the 2019 NECC Championship on Tuesday, February 19 at 6 p.m.