Women's Basketball Trio Earns GNAC All-Conference Accolades
WINTHROP, Mass. – Head Coach Wendy Davis of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's basketball team was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Coach of the Year, it was announced Tuesday by the league's front office. In addition to the major award, senior forward Jordan Ouellette (Bristol, Conn.) was named to the All-GNAC First Team, while junior guard Maya Slisz (New Britain, Conn.) was selected to the All-GNAC Third Team. Senior forward Olivia Heslin (Plainville, Conn.) was selected to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team. The awards are voted upon by the league's 15 head coaches.
Coach Davis is the third coach in USJ women's basketball history to earn GNAC Coach of the Year and is the first since Kim Martin received the honor after the 2010-11 campaign. Under Davis' direction, the Blue Jays posted a program-record 24 victories and the team's first appearance in the GNAC Championship game since the 1998 Championship Team. Since joining the program ahead of the 2018-19 campaign, Davis has posted a record of 69-61 at USJ, and recently picked up her 300th career victory after the Blue Jays defeated Emmanuel College on January 16.
A senior forward from Bristol, Conn., Ouellette was a repeat All-Conference selection for the third consecutive year and was named to the All-GNAC First Team after being selected to the All-Second Team a year ago, and the All-GNAC Third Team in 2021-22. Ouellette was a force for USJ this season, leading the team in scoring, dropping 16.6 points per game, and in rebounds, hauling in 8.8 boards per game. The forward has etched her name into the program's record books, starting with securing her 1,000th career point, becoming the 10th player in USJ women's basketball history to eclipse the mark. In addition, she ranks sixth all-time in career points (1,257), fifth in career rebounds (653), and tenth in career blocks (55).
Slisz had a stellar junior campaign to earn a spot on the All-GNAC Third Team. A guard from New Britain, Conn., she averaged 14.9 points per game, while also posting 3.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per contest. The tallies are all significant increases from her totals last season.
For the complete list of all-conference honorees, major award winners, and all-sportsmanship selections, please see below.
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Lyric Grumblatt, Rivier
Angelica Hurley, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Jordan Ouellette, Saint Joseph (Conn.)
Yasmine Santos, Mitchell
Caitlyn Scott, Albertus Magnus
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Olivia Matela, Emmanuel
Jakara Murray-Leach, Albertus Magnus
Grace Ramsdell, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Kathleen Rodriguez, New England College
Madi Zancan, Regis
ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM
Haley Brewster, Norwich
Kiara Cerruti, Lasell
Marinique Reddin, Anna Maria
Maya Slisz, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)
Diamond White, Albertus Magnus
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Jade Lewis, Elms
Alexa Lora, Johnson & Wales
Blaize Mack, Lasell
Grace Ramsdell, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Meagan Schuermann, Emmanuel
MAJOR AWARDS
Player of the Year - Lyric Grumblatt, Rivier
Defensive Player of the Year - Jakara Murray-Leach, Albertus Magnus
Rookie of the Year - Grace Ramsdell, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Coach of the Year - Wendy Davis, Saint Joseph (Conn.)
Institutional Sportsmanship - Dean
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Sarah Evangelista, Albertus Magnus
Madison Paulhus, Anna Maria
Lia Raynowska, Colby-Sawyer
Cat Thomas, Dean
Alexis Sanders, Emmanuel
Adalena Francis, Elms
Mikayla Caruso, Johnson & Wales
Brooke Damboise, Lasell
Kyrsten Lucas , Mitchell
Juliana Hernandez, New England College
Silas Bernier, Norwich
Courtney Doherty, Regis
Anna Stawasz, Rivier
Hannah Talon, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Olivia Heslin, Saint Joseph (Conn.)
About The GNAC
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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