Link: GNAC Complete Release
Winthrop, Mass. – Juniors Shyla Osmond (New Haven, Conn.) and Rah Rah Thompson (Bridgeport, Conn.) of the Albertus Magnus College women's basketball team earned All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) honors as announced by the league office Monday morning. Osmond was named to the first team, while Thompson landed on the second team.
Osmond finished her junior year leading the team as well as ranked fifth in the league averaging 20.8 points per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field, 32.4 percent from behind the arc and 79 percent from the charity stripe. This season, she also led the Falcons averaging 3.3 steals and finished second on the team in assists per game with 4.0. She scored 20 or more points 12 times, including a career-best 41 against Colby Sawyer on January 19. In the GNAC Semifinal win over Regis, Osmond became the 15th player in program history to score her 1,000th career point. She also posted four double-doubles on the year and was named the GNAC Player of the Week back on January 21.
Thompson, who was recently named USBWA Division III National Player of the Week, closed out her junior year leading the league in three statistical categories - total rebounds (377), rebounds per game (14.5) and offensive rebounds (178) – to go along with 16.2 points per game, ranking her second on the team in scoring. She registered a team-high 19 double-doubles as well as ranked second in the league shooting an impressive 56.7 percent from the field. Thompson reached 15+ rebounds 12 times and had 20+ rebounds on six different occasions, helping Albertus force league champion Emmanuel to overtime in the GNAC Semifinals last week. She was also named GNAC Player of the Week twice.
In addition, senior Sasha Byrd (Hamden, Conn.) earned a spot on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship team. This season, Byrd appeared in 14 games for the Falcons as well as totaled six points and three rebounds.
GNAC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Shyla Osmond, Albertus Magnus (Jr., New Haven, Conn.)
Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Emmanuel (Jr., South Boston, Mass.)
Kaylee Kacavas, Rivier (Sr., Dracut, Mass.)
Kelsi McNamara, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., West Newbury, Mass.)
Jenni-Rose DiCecco, Suffolk (So., Falmouth, Mass.)
SECOND TEAM
Rah Rah Thompson, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Bridgeport, Conn.)
Amber Wilson, Anna Maria (So., New York, N.Y.)
Emily Benway, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Rochester, N.H.)
Cassandra Stapelfeld, Simmons (So., Brookline, N.H.)
Alexis Hackett, Suffolk (Jr., Charlton, Mass.)
THIRD TEAM
Tianna Sugars, Colby-Sawyer (Jr., Oxford, Maine)
Madison McLaughlin, Emmanuel (Sr., Westerly, R.I.)
Kayla Weaver, Emmanuel (Jr., West Haven, Conn.)
Julia Champagne, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Brunswick, Maine)
Hannah Marks, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Waldoboro, Maine)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Kelsi McNamara, Saint Joseph's of Maine
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Kayla Weaver, Emmanuel
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Dede Stevenson, Johnson & Wales (RI)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Mike McDevitt, Saint Joseph's of Maine
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Saint Joseph (Conn.)
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Sasha Byrd, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Hamden, Conn.)
Johanna Burke, Anna Maria (Gr., Oxford, Mass.)
Mackenzie Buzzell, Colby-Sawyer (So., Lovell, Maine)
Arina Ovchinnikova, Emmanuel (Fr., Moscow, Russia)
Tara Murphy, Johnson & Wales (Fr., Killingworth, Conn.)
Jaime Caron, Lasell (Sr., Derry, N.H.)
Jenna Alexander, Norwich (Sr., Castleton, Vt.)
Marissa Prall, Regis (Fr., Hopkinton, Mass.)
Jackelyn Robarge, Rivier (Jr., Belmont, N.H.)
Raelynn Voislow, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (So., Windsor Locks, Conn.)
Hannah Marks, Saint Joseph's of Maine (Sr., Waldoboro, Maine)
Alexandra Kay, Simmons (Sr., Forked River, N.J.)
Shannon Smith, Suffolk (Fr., Tewksbury, Mass.)
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The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.