West Babylon, N.Y. – The East Coast Conference announced its women’s basketball All-Conference honorees on Friday, highlighted by St. Thomas Aquinas standout Sarah Ericson (Norwich, Conn.) being selected as the league’s Player of the Year. Also earning top honors are Daemen’s Mickayla Ivy (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Queens’ Brianna Davis (Bronx, N.Y.). Ivy was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while Davis earns the Rookie of the Year award.
After being named last year’s ECC Rookie of the Year, there was no sophomore slump for Ericson in 2022-23. The 5-X guard stuffed the stat sheet for the Spartans, ranking in the top 10 in the conference in nearly every statistical category. Heading into the ECC Championship, she ranked sixth in points per game (12.5), second in rebounds per game (9.9), fifth in assists per game (3.5), and fourth in steals per game (2.0). In addition, she was one of the top outside shooters in the conference, ranking fourth in both three pointers made (49) and three point field goal percentage (37.1).
Ivy earns the mantle of the conference’s top defender after anchoring a Wildcats defense that allowed an ECC-low 54.1 points per game. She ranked in the top 10 in the league with 25 blocks (9th) and 1.1 blocks per game (6th), while also averaging 4.5 rebounds per game and swiping 16 steals on the year.
Davis was named the conference’s top newcomer after a strong finish saw her earn four ECC Rookie of the Week honors over the last five weeks of the regular season. On the year, she averaged 10.3 points per game but was even better in conference play with 14.1 points per game, good for third in the league. She also pulled down 6.2 rebounds per game and finished in the top 10 in the conference with 46 steals and 24 blocked shots.
Rounding out the top awards is Daemen’s Jenepher Banker who was named the Coach of the Year by her peers. This is the third straight season Banker has won the honor. She led the Wildcats to an 18-4 record and a 13-3 mark during ECC play to earn the league's regular season title for the fourth straight year.
The ECC also announced the Women's Basketball All-Conference teams. Joining Ericson on the First Team are Paige Emborsky (Gr., G, Daemen), Latavia Jackson (Jr., G, Dist. Columbia), Erin Leary (So., F, St. Thomas Aquinas), Destiny Ryles (So., G, Dist. Columbia), and Katie Wall (Sr., G, Mercy).
Ivy is a Second Team honoree along with Jenalyse Alarcon (So., F, Staten Island), Taysha Bender (Gr., G, Mercy), Stella Mollica (So., G, D’Youville), and Alahna Paige (Jr., G, Daemen).
ECC Third Team selections include Davis, Trinity Hudson (Jr., G, Molloy), Alexa Huertas (Sr., G, St. Thomas Aquinas), Anna Jankovic (So., G, D’Youville), Raven Pitt (Gr., G, Queens), and Chelsea Reeves (So., G, Queens).
2022-2023 ECC Women’s Basketball All-Conference
First Team
Paige Emborsky, Daemen
Sarah Ericson, St. Thomas Aquinas
Latavia Jackson, Dist. Columbia
Erin Leary, St. Thomas Aquinas
Destiny Ryles, Dist. Columbia
Katie Wall, Mercy
Second Team
Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island
Taysha Bender, Mercy
Mickayla Ivy, Daemen
Stella Mollica, D'Youville
Alahna Paige, Daemen
Third Team
Brianna Davis, Queens
Trinity Hudson, Molloy
Alexa Huertas, St. Thomas Aquinas
Anna Jankovic, D'Youville
Raven Pitt, Queens
Chelsea Reeves, Queens
* Six players on Third Team due to a tie in the voting
Player of the Year: Sarah Ericson, So., G, St. Thomas Aquinas
Defensive Player of the Year: Mickayla Ivy, 5th Yr., F, Daemen
Rookie of the Year: Brianna Davis, Fr., G, Queens
Coach of the Year: Jenepher Banker, Daemen
