WBB's Wiley, Turner & Santos Earn Top Honors
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Three Mitchell College student-athletes received major awards from the New England Collegiate Conference on Tuesday morning as the league announced its annual women's basketball honors.
Senior forward Amina Wiley was named NECC Player of the Year and landed one of five spots on the all-conference team. Classmate Le'Sandra Turner was selected as NECC Defensive Player of the Year while sophomore forward Yasmine Santos was tabbed NECC Co-Rookie of the Year. All awards were determined by a vote of the league's head coaches.
Wiley becomes the second Mitchell player to earn the NECC's top honor, as well as the first three-time all-conference selection in the program's history. Turner is the first Mitchell player to nab DPOY honors, while Santos is the third Mariner to be named top rookie.
Wiley led the NECC in scoring (19.4), rebounding (11.0) and field goal percentage (.577) in her final season with the Mariners. Her 13 double-doubles also led the league, and she ranked third among all active Division III players with 48 for her career. She was a six-time NECC Player of the Week selection during a regular season that saw her eclipse the 1,000-point barrier, as well as become the school's all-time leading rebounder.
Turner was the leader of a Mitchell defense that allowed 61.8 points per game, good enough to rank second in the league. She led the NECC in both steals and assists during the regular season, and over 22 games she averaged 9.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals per contest.
Santos started and played in 21 games for the Mariners and averaged 6.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She elevated her play during league action, scoring in double digits in four out of six games while averaging 8.5 points and 6.2 boards per contest.
Sam McKenna also represented Mitchell as one of four players selected for the Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team.
Mitchell will be the third seed in the 2022 NECC Women's Basketball Championship, which kicks off with semifinals action on Thursday, February 24. The Mariners will play at second-seeded Eastern Nazarene College at 7 p.m.
2022 NECC Awards
Player of the Year – Amina Wiley, Mitchell (Sr., F, New Rochelle, N.Y.)
Defensive Player of the Year – Le'Sandra Turner (Sr., G, New Rochelle, N.Y.)
Co-Rookie of the Year – Yasmine Santos, Mitchell (So., G/F, Pawtucket, R.I.)
Co-Rookie of the Year – Kizziah Ruff, Lesley (Fr., G, Cambridge, Mass.)
Coach of the Year – Didier Dinh, Eastern Nazarene
All-Conference Team
Alondra Jimenez, Eastern Nazarene
Sydni Oviatt, Eastern Nazarene
Amina Wiley, Mitchell
Kayla Goldring, New England College
Brianna Pierreval, New England College
Del Malloy Sportsmanship Team
Michaela O'Donoghue, Eastern Nazarene
McKenna Rodriquenz, Lesley
Sam McKenna, Mitchell
Alissia Coronoa, New England College
