Wiley, Hernandez Highlight NECC All-Conference Teams
MANSFIELD, Mass. – Mitchell College sophomore Amina Wiley and senior Kelsey Hernandez were among the women's basketball players recognized by the New England Collegiate Conference on Tuesday morning as the league announced its annual awards.
Wiley was one of five players named to the all-conference first team while Hernandez was selected to the second team. It marked the second all-conference nod for each; in 2019, Wiley was a first-team pick while Hernandez landed on the third team. All awards were determined by a vote of the league's head coaches.
Wiley, just the second Mitchell player to earn NECC first team honors in back-to-back seasons, played in all 25 regular season games and averaged team highs of 16.3 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. She ranked second in the league in rebounding and fourth in scoring, and her 16 double-doubles lead all NECC players and are tied for 11th most in the country.
Wiley, a forward, has made the most of her first two seasons at Mitchell. In 51 career games she has amassed 832 points and 587 rebounds while recording 31 double-doubles. Earlier this year she was tabbed U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Player of the Week after grabbing 32 rebounds in a game at Anna Maria College.
Hernandez played in 24 games and averaged 12.6 points per contest, good enough to rank ninth in the conference. She also ranked among the top 10 in the league in steals (38), three-pointers (37), three-point field goal percentage (.352), free throws (53) and free throw percentage (.746).
Hernandez, a shooting guard, is putting the finishing touches on a two-year career with the Mariners. In 49 games she has averaged 11.7 points per contest while draining 77 three-pointers and recording 97 assists and 87 steals.
Third-seeded Mitchell (15-10 overall, 10-4 NECC) will host sixth-seeded Elms College in the first round of the 2020 NECC Championship on Tuesday, February 25 at 7 p.m.
2020 NECC Women's Basketball All-Conference Awards
NECC Player of the Year – Stevie Orton, Eastern Nazarene (So., G, Gilford, N.H.)
NECC Defensive Player of the Year – Jenn Burnham, Eastern Nazarene (Sr., G, West Valley City, Utah)
NECC Rookie of the Year – Natasha Pacheco, Becker (Fr., F., Fairfax, Va.)
NECC Coach of the Year – Sacha Santimano, Eastern Nazarene
All-Conference First Team
Makayla Rudder, Dean (So., G/F, Springfield, Mass.)
Kyra Fleharty, Eastern Nazarene (Sr., F, Lewistown, Mont.)
Stevie Orton, Eastern Nazarene (So., G, Gilford, N.H.)
Amina Wiley, Mitchell (So., F, New Rochelle, N.Y.)
Rene Hudson, New England Col. (Sr., G, Gallatin, Tenn.)
All-Conference Second Team
Cassidy Harrison, Becker (Sr., G, Foxborough, Mass.)
Natasha Pacheco, Becker (Fr., F, Fairfax, Va.)
Jenn Burnham, Eastern Nazarene (Sr., G, West Valley City, Utah)
Dakota Jones, Lesley (Sr., F, Torrance, Calif.)
Kelsey Hernandez, Mitchell (Sr., G, New Britain, Conn.)
Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team
Ashley Alcantara, Bay Path (Fr., F, Lowell, Mass.)
Sarah Ware, Becker (Sr., F, Oakham, Mass.)
Taishe Alexandre, Dean (Sr., G, Quincy, Mass.)
Seniesha Sekaquaptewa, Eastern Nazarene (Jr., G, Second Mesa, Ariz.)
Rachel Granger, Elms (Sr., G, Hampden, Mass.)
Skylar Moore, Lesley (So., G, Chelsea, Mass.)
Leilani McClellan, Mitchell (So., G, Bozrah, Conn.)
Haleigh Martin, New England College (Sr., G, Bergenfield, N.J.)