West Babylon, N.Y. - Ruth Adams (San Diego, Calif.) of St. Thomas Aquinas and Raiana Brown (North Babylon, N.Y.) of Queens took home the top honors at the ECC All-Conference awards banquet on Friday evening in Washington, D.C. Adams was named both the Player and Defensive Player of the Year, while Brown claimed the Rookie of the Year award.
Adams excelled on both sides of the court to double up on the league's top honors. Offensively, the senior guard finished second in the ECC with a 14.7 point per game scoring average. She also ranked third in the league with a 51.9 field goal percentage and shot 47.9 percent from three-point range.
On the defensive end of the court, Adams played a key part in helping the Spartans rank 13th in all of Division II with 22.26 turnovers forced per game by swiping 2.1 steals per game. That total was good for fourth in the ECC. Additionally, Adams ranked in the top-10 in the conference with 23 blocked shots and just outside the top-10 with 6.0 rebounds per game.
Brown had a standout debut season for the Knights, nearly averaging a double-double with 13.7 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. Both totals ranked in the top five in the ECC. Brown finished among the ECC leaders in field goal percentage (5th - 50.2) field goals made (143 - 6th), and blocked shots (2nd - 48), as well.
Kim Lusk was selected as the Coach of the Year by her peers for the second straight season. Lusk guided the Spartans to a 21-6 record and a 13-3 mark during ECC play to earn a share of the league's regular season championship for the second straight year. Lusk also has St. Thomas Aquinas ranked No. 7 in the NCAA East Region Rankings, bringing the Spartans to the cusp of third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
The ECC also announced the Women's Basketball All-Conference teams. Joining Adams on the First Team are Kadijah Dickson (Gr., G, Molloy), Tiara Filbert (Jr., G, Daemen), Emily Miller (Sr., F, Roberts Wesleyan), Melissa Sadler (Sr., G/F, St. Thomas Aquinas), and Caroline White (Jr., F, Caroline White).
Brown is also a Second Team honoree along with Gabriella Aspuru (Jr., G, Molloy), Ketsia Athias (So., F, New York Tech), Meg Knollmeyer (Jr., F, New York Tech), and Katie Titus (So., F, Daemen).
ECC Third Team selections are: Zoe Amalbert (So., G, New York Tech), Shalie Frierson (Jr., G, New York Tech), Jordan Heinold (Sr., G/F, Daemen), Sara Nady (Sr., G, Roberts Wesleyan), and Zaria Thomas (Jr., G, St. Thomas Aquinas).
2019-2020 ECC Women’s Basketball All-Conference
First Team
Ruth Adams, St. Thomas Aquinas
Kadijah Dickson, Molloy
Tiara Filbert, Daemen
Emily Miller, Roberts Wesleyan
Melissa Sadler, St. Thomas Aquinas
Caroline White, Daemen
Second Team
Gabriella Aspuru, Molloy
Ketsia Athias, New York Tech
Raiana Brown, Queens
Meg Knollmeyer, New York Tech
Katie Titus, Daemen
Third Team
Zoe Amalbert, New York Tech
Shalie Frierson, New York Tech
Jordan Heinold, Daemen
Sara Nady, Roberts Wesleyan
Zaria Thomas, St. Thomas Aquinas
Player of the Year: Ruth Adams, St. Thomas Aquinas
Defensive Player of the Year: Ruth Adams, St. Thomas Aquinas
Rookie of the Year: Raiana Brown, Queens
Coach of the Year: Kim Lusk, St. Thomas Aquinas
