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News Release
Cassidy, Drabyn Earn All-Conference Honors; Colabella Selected to All-Rookie Team
3/13/2008
 Carlee Cassidy is the first Retriever ever to earn America East First Team honors. |
 Kristin Drabyn averaged 13.2 ppg in America East play. |
 Meghan Colabella has scored 11.5 ppg in her last five contests. |
SPRINGFIELD,
The selections represent three firsts for UMBC: Cassidy is the first Retriever to earn first-team honors in UMBC’s five years in the America East; Colabella is also the first Retriever to garner All-Rookie nods in the league; and Drabyn’s inclusion on the third team gives UMBC two all-conference players for the first time since joining the America East in 2003-04.
Cassidy ranked second in the America East with 17.0 points per game this season, the best average by a Retriever since Shalayna Johnson scored 21.0 ppg in 2002-03. Her 459 points are the seventh-best single-season total in school history and the second-most among all-time sophomores. She also leads the league and ranked 54th in the nation with 2.37 three-pointers per game, and her 64 triples this season are a sophomore record and the sixth-best single-season total in school history. Cassidy has scored in double figures in all but three games this season with eight 20-point performances. In addition, she was named America East Player of the Week three times this season – most ever by a Retriever – and she earned WBCA Player of the Month Honorable Mention in December. The first-team selection is Cassidy’s first all-conference recognition of her career.
Cassidy also earned All-Academic Team honors by merit of her 3.09 grade-point average. She is the first Retriever to earn recognition on that squad in the three years of the academic team’s existence.
Drabyn is averaging a career-high 11.6 ppg, including 13.2 ppg in conference play, ranking eighth and sixth, respectively, in the America East. She also ranks second in the league and 57th in the nation with 2.31 three-pointers per game and sixth and 83rd, respectively, with a .354 shooting percentage from long distance. Her 68 triples this season are the fourth-best single-season total in school history, and she broke UMBC’s all-time record for career three-pointers with 166. In addition, Drabyn is the Retrievers’ all-time free throw percentage leader at 88.7 percent, and she has only missed four foul shots this season for a .918 percentage from the charity stripe. The third-team selection is Drabyn’s first all-conference award of her career.
Colabella is averaging 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds on the season, but she improved in the conference season with 6.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg in 16 America East games, including 15 starts. Colabella has come on even stronger of late, scoring 11.5 ppg, pulling down 4.7 rpg and shooting at a 57.5 percent clip in her last six games. She was named America East Rookie of the Week three times during the season, including each of the last two weeks.
Vermont sophomore Courtnay Pilypaitis was named America East Player of the Year, while New Hampshire’s Denise Beliveau was tabbed Rookie of the Year and Albany’s Trina Patterson was voted Coach of the Year. In addition,
The Retrievers earned the No. 6 seed in the America East Tournament with a 9-20 overall record and a 5-11 conference mark. They will face third-seeded
First Team
Laine Kurpniece,
Erica Beverly,
Danielle Hood,
Carlee Cassidy, UMBC
Second Team
Gia Sanders,
Jesyka Burks-Wiley,
Diana Delva,
May
Amy Rosenkrantz,
Third Team
Kristin Higy,
Laura Sario,
Christine Kinneary,
Kristin Drabyn, UMBC
Dana Ferraro, Stony Brook
All-Rookie Team
Janea Aiken,
Meghan Colabella, UMBC
Denise Beliveau,
Kirsten Jeter, Stony Brook
All-Academic Team
Gia Sanders,
Erica Beverly,
Carlee Cassidy, UMBC
May
Amy Rosenkrantz,
Coach of the Year: Trina Patterson,
Rookie of the Year: Denise Beliveau,
Defensive Player of the Year: May
Player of the Year:
* - Unanimous selection