www.nescac.com

Dan Fisher

Assistant Director, NESCAC

100 Venture Way - Box 13

Hadley, MA 01035

P: (413) 587-2078

F: (413) 587-2167

daniel.fisher@trincoll.edu

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL All-Conference - March 1, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NESCAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM ANNOUNCED

Bates’ Coffin Named Player of the Year

HADLEY, Mass. - Bates junior center Meg Coffin (Westford, Mass.) has been named the 2006 NESCAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. Coffin helped the Bobcats finish atop the NESCAC standings this season, along with a 19-8 overall record and a trip to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament this coming weekend.

A NESCAC All-Conference Second Team selection last year, Coffin also came away with a spot on the NESCAC All-Conference First Team this season. Coffin currently ranks among the leaders in the NESCAC in multiple categories, including scoring (2nd), rebounding (1st), field goal percentage (2nd), steals (4th) and blocked shots (4th). Through 24 games this season, Coffin has averaged 17.1 points and 10.8 rebounds while shooting an impressive 58.7 percent from the floor, all team highs. She led the Bobcats in both scoring and rebounding on 15 separate occasions during the 2005-06 campaign, 12 of which were double-doubles, pouring in a season-high 24 points at Colby on January 4 and at Bowdoin on January 31. Coffin grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds against Amherst on January 10.

Bowdoin placed two players on the NESCAC All-Conference First Team for the fifth consecutive year, as senior Justine Pouravelis (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) and junior Eileen Flaherty (Fairfield, Conn.) represented the Polar Bears on last year’s First Team. Pouravelis received All-NESCAC honors for the third consecutive year, after being named to the Second Team in her sophomore season followed by First Team honors last year. Pouravelis, who also earned NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year for the third year in a row, led the Polar Bears in rebounding this year, hauling down 8.3 boards per game through 26 outings, good enough for fourth in the NESCAC. Pouravelis nabbed 2.31 steals per game as well this season, second among NESCAC players. While Pouravelis has only averaged 9.3 points per game so far this year, her accuracy is among the best in the NESCAC, as she has sunk 55.7 percent of her attempts this season.

It is the third year in a row that Bowdoin’s Flaherty has earned NESCAC All-Conference First Team honors, having also been named Co- Rookie of the Year during her first season with the Polar Bears in 2002-03. Flaherty leads her team in scoring this season, ranking third in the NESCAC with 15.9 points per game, grabbing 6.1 rebounds along the way.

Williams’ junior forward Maggie Miller, Flaherty’s Co-Rookie counterpart in 2003, earned NESCAC All-Conference First Team honors for the second time in her career (2003), after being named to the All-Conference Second Team last season. Miller leads the Ephs in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, ranking her among the statistical leaders in the NESCAC in both of those categories.

Rounding out the NESCAC All-Conference First Team is Wesleyan senior Hannah Stubbs (Arlington, Va.), who was named to the First Team for the third consecutive year. Starting all 25 games this season for the Cardinals, Stubbs was the leading scorer on 16 separate occasions, averaging 15.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, both team highs. Stubbs currently ranks second at Wesleyan in career points with 1,382, only 34 points shy of the program mark with at least one game to play this weekend in the NCAA Tournament.

Wesleyan guard Ali Fourney (East Northport, N.Y.) came away as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Fourney finished first among the league’s first year players in scoring, averaging 11.7 points while coming off the bench in all 25 of the Cardinals’ contests. She was also third in the NESCAC this season in three-point field goal percentage (34.4) and steals (2.28).

Bowdoin head coach Stefanie Pemper was the choice among the coaches, earning NESCAC Coach of the Year for the second time in three years (2003). Pemper has guided the Polar Bears to a 24-2 overall record and an 8-1 mark in NESCAC play this season. Bowdoin captured the 2006 NESCAC Women’s Basketball Championship this past weekend, the sixth consecutive title for the Polar Bears.

2005-06 NESCAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE

First Team

C Meg Coffin ^ Bates Jr. Westford, Mass.

F Eileen Flaherty * Bowdoin Jr. Fairfield, Conn.

F Maggie Miller ^ Williams Jr. Wellesley, Mass.

F Justine Pouravelis * Bowdoin Sr. Old Orchard Beach, Maine

F Hannah Stubbs * Wesleyan Sr. Arlington, Va.

Player of the Year: Meg Coffin, Bates

Defensive Player of the Year: Justine Pouravelis, Bowdoin

Rookie of the Year: Ali Fourney, Wesleyan

Coach of the Year: Stefanie Pemper, Bowdoin

Second Team

G Sarah Barton Bates So. Portsmouth, N.H.

G Colleen Hession * Williams Sr. Northampton, Mass.

G Jessica Powers Tufts Sr. Massapequa, N.Y.

F Sarah Cox Trinity Jr. Norwell, Mass.

F Matia Kostakis Bates So. Andover, Mass.

F Meghan O’Malley Williams Jr. Topsfield, Mass.

* - 2004-05 All-Conference First Team

^ - 2004-05 All-Conference Second Team