Coastal Athletic Association (CAA Sports)

RICHMOND, Va. (March 12, 2019) – Drexel junior forward Bailey Greenberg was voted the Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball Player of the Year in voting of the league’s 10 head coaches, becoming the first Drexel player to earn the honor since 2009.


 
Towson head coach Diane Richardson was chosen CAA Coach of the Year by her peers, while William & Mary guard Eva Hodgson was tabbed CAA Rookie of the Year. James Madison had two individual award winners, with Kayla Cooper-Williams earning Defensive Player of the Year accolades and Jackie Benitez being voted the Sixth Player of the Year. Delaware’s Abby Gonzales is the recipient of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award, while Boogie Brozoski of Hofstra was selected as the CAA Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Greenberg led the CAA in scoring at 17.9 points per game while also ranking third in field-goal percentage (47.8) and rebounding (7.0 rpg). Greenberg wrapped the regular season as just the third Drexel player to lead the CAA in scoring in conference play, averaging 18.6 ppg and is the second Dragon to lead the CAA in scoring overall. The four-time CAA Player of the Week paced Drexel in scoring in 24 of 29 contests this season, helping the Dragons earn the No. 2 seed in the upcoming CAA Championship. Greenberg is the first Drexel player to be voted CAA Player of the Year since Gabriela Marginean took the honor in 2009.


 
Richardson was voted Coach of the Year for the first time after guiding Towson to one of the nation’s top turnarounds in 2018-19. In Richardson’s second season at the helm, Towson vaulted from nine wins in 2017-18 to 17 this season and an 11-7 CAA record, good for the No. 4 seed in the CAA Championship. Towson’s 17 wins are its most since the 2008-09 season and its tie for third in the standings is the program’s best since joining the CAA.


 
Hodgson earned Rookie of the Year accolades after leading all CAA freshmen in both scoring (10.1 ppg) and 3-point shooting (41.1). The William & Mary freshman upper her game in conference play, averaging 11.7 points and 45.3-percent of her 3-pointers, earning four CAA Rookie of the Week honors throughout the season. Hodgson is the first William & Mary player to received CAA Rookie of the Year honors since 2014.


 
Cooper-Williams was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year after leading the CAA in both rebounding (9.8 rpg) and blocks (2.9 bpg); on the season, Cooper-Williams grabbed 61 more rebounds and swatted 30 more shots than any other player in the conference. Earlier this season, Cooper-Williams became James Madison’s career leader in blocks, and her 215 career blocks ranks fifth in CAA history. The junior is the first JMU player voted Defensive Player of the Year since Nikki Newman in 2014.


 
Benitez earned the Sixth Player of the Year award, which is given to a standout player who started fewer than 50-percent of her team’s conference games. Coming off the bench in all but two of James Madison’s games this season, Benitez was the Dukes’ third-leading scorer, ranking 13^th in the CAA at 11.4 ppg. Entering the postseason, Benitez ranks second in the CAA in 3-pointers, having hit 72 so far this year.

Gonzales received the Ehlers Award, which is presented annually to the women’s basketball student-athlete who “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.” An elementary education major, Gonzales is preparing for a career in teaching once her basketball career comes to an end. A team captain in her junior year, Gonzales has started 29 of 30 games this season, running Delaware’s offense, leading the team in assists and ranking second in scoring.


 
Brozoski was selected as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A community health major with a 3.83 grade-point average, Brozoski has made an impact both on and off the court for Hofstra. Brozoski has reached double figures in 27-of-30 games this season, including three efforts with 30 or more points. Brozoski earned CAA player of the week honors earlier this season and has collected Dean’s List recognition in all four of her semesters at Hofstra. Last year, Brozoski earned a place on the CAA Commissioner Academic Honor Roll.


 
Joining Greenberg on the All-CAA First Team were William & Mary senior guard Bianca Boggs, Northeastern senior guard Jess Genco, Towson redshirt sophomore guard Kionna Jeter and James Madison junior guard Kamiah Smalls.
 
Boggs earned first team accolades for the second straight season after a season in which she became the first player in William & Mary history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in her career. At 16.9 ppg and 6.9 rpg, Boggs ranked fourth in the CAA in both categories, while her 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game placed fifth and second, respectively.
 
Like Boggs, Genco finds herself on the All-CAA first team for the second consecutive year. The senior finished the regular season tied for second in the CAA in scoring at 17.3 ppg, pacing the conference with 82 3-pointers. Genco set Northeastern records for career assists (531) and 3-pointers (298), with her nine 3-pointers against Providence on Dec. 15 setting the program’s single-game mark.
 
In her first season with Towson, Jeter became the first Tiger to earn first team honors since 2015. Jeter tied with Genco for second in scoring at 17.3 ppg, eclipsing 20 points 12 times in 2018-19 and finishing in double figures in 25 of 29 games to help Towson earn the No. 4 seed in the CAA Championship. Jeter paced the CAA in steals, averaging 2.5 per game.
 
For the second consecutive season, Smalls collects first team recognition. The 2017 CAA Rookie of the Year finished with 10 or more points in 27 of JMU’s 29 games, ranking fifth in the CAA in scoring (16.6 ppg), second in field-goal percentage (48.4) and third in 3-point field-goal percentage (40.4). The junior led a JMU squad that outscored its opponents by 19.5 ppg in CAA play.
 
Earning Second Team All-CAA honors were James Madison junior guard Lexie Barrier (11.0 ppg), Hofstra senior guard Boogie Brozoski (15.6 ppg/4.0 apg), Delaware junior forward Samone DeFreese (10.8 ppg/6.5 rpg), Towson junior forward Nukiya Mayo (14.3 ppg/7.6 rpg) and the UNCW duo of redshirt senior guard Shrita Parker (15.1 ppg1.8 spg) and redshirt junior guard Gigi Smith (15.3 ppg/5.2 rpg).
 
Voted Third Team All-CAA were the James Madison pair of redshirt junior guard Jackie Benitez (11.4 ppg/2.6 3fg) and redshirt junior center Kayla Cooper-Williams (9.8 rpg/2.9 bpg), Charleston senior guard Darien Huff (12.8 ppg/2.2 3fg), Charleston junior guard Deja Ford (12.1 ppg/1.4 3fg), Elon sophomore forward Emily Maupin (11.6 ppg/6.0 rpg) and UNCW junior guard Lacey Suggs (10.2 ppg/1.4 spg).
 
The awards were announced on the eve of the 2019 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship, which will be held March 13-16 at the Bob Carpenter Center on the campus of the University of Delaware.