West Babylon, N.Y. – Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) of Daemen, Gabriella Aspuru (Farmingville, N.Y.) of Molloy, and Sarah Ericson (Norwich, Conn.) of St. Thomas Aquinas earned top honors in the ECC All-Conference awards that were announced on Friday morning. Titus was named the Year, Aspuru repeats as the Defensive Player of the Year, and Ericson was selected as the Rookie of the Year.
Titus, now a four-time All-Conference honoree, earns the first Player of the Year honor of her career. The five-time ECC Player of the Week was the leading scorer in the ECC this season, averaging 20.7 points per game. She also led the league with 174 field goals made and an 89.3 free throw percentage. Titus added 7.8 rebounds per game and also contributed defensively with 1.6 blocks per game and 1.1 steals per game. Her rebounds and blocks per game totals ranked in the top-10 of the conference.
Aspuru was named the league’s top defender for the second straight season. The senior guard’s play helped the Lions rank 22nd in all of Division II with a scoring defense of 56.3 points per game. Individually, her numbers stack up among the conference’s best. Aspuru ranks second in the loop with 2.0 blocked shots per game and sixth with 2.0 steals per game.
In a league stacked with talented newcomers, Ericson earns the vote as the conference’s top rookie. The three-time Rookie of the Week averaged 10.7 points per game and was one of the top three point-shooting threats in the league, ranking fourth with a 39.7 shooting percentage from downtown. In addition, the freshman guard ranked in the top-10 in the ECC with 3.5 assists per game, while also adding 6.3 rebounds per game.
Daemen’s Jenepher Banker and Molloy’s Joe Pellicane round out the top awards by sharing the league’s Coach of the Year honor. Banker earns the honor for the second season in a row, while Pellicane adds an eighth Coach of the Year honor in his illustrious career. Banker led the Wildcats to an 18-4 record and a near-perfect 16-1 mark during ECC play to earn a share of the league's regular season championship for the third straight year. Pellicane helped lead the Lions to a 16-9 overall record and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ECC Women’s Basketball Championship with a 13-5 record in conference play.
The ECC also announced the Women's Basketball All-Conference teams. Joining Titus and Aspuru on the First Team are Tiara Filbert (Sr., G, Daemen), Saifyyah Lee (Gr., F, Molloy), Sara Pfeiffer (So., G, D’Youvile), and Katie Wall (Jr., G, Mercy).
Ericson is a Second Team honoree along with Taysha Bender (Sr., G, Mercy); Dimitra Gkizani (Sr., C, Roberts Wesleyan); Alexa Huertas (Sr., G, St. Thomas Aquinas), Stephanie McBride (Jr., C, Bridgeport), and Taryn Wilson (Sr., G, Roberts Wesleyan).
ECC Third Team selections are Jenalyse Alarcon (Fr., F, Staten Island); Mickayla Ivy (Sr., F, Daemen); Latavia Jackson (So., G, Dist. Columbia); Chelsea Reeves (Fr., G, Queens); Destiny Ryles (Fr., G, Dist. Columbia).
2021-2022 ECC Women’s Basketball All-Conference
First Team
Gabriella Aspuru, Molloy
Tiara Filbert, Daemen
Safiyyah Lee, Molloy
Sara Pfeiffer, D'Youville
Katie Titus, Daemen
Katie Wall, Mercy
Second Team
Taysha Bender, Mercy
Sarah Ericson, St. Thomas Aquinas
Dimitra Gkizani, Roberts Wesleyan
Alexa Huertas, St. Thomas Aquinas
Stephanie McBride, Bridgeport
Taryn Wilson, Roberts Wesleyan
Third Team
Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island
Mickayla Ivy, Daemen
Latavia Jackson, Dist. Columbia
Chelsea Reeves, Queens
Destiny Ryles, Dist. Columbia
Player of the Year: Katie Titus, Sr., F, Daemen
Defensive Player of the Year: Gabriella Aspuru, Sr., G, Molloy
Rookie of the Year: Sarah Ericson, Fr., G, St. Thomas Aquinas
Co-Coach of the Year: Jenepher Banker, Daemen
Co-Coach of the Year: Joe Pellicane, Molloy
* Six players on the Second Team due to a tie in the voting
