BASCOE HEADLINES OCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS

MARKHAM, Ont. - Algonquin College's Sandre Bascoe was named the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women's basketball player of the year in a ceremony held at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites Toronto-Markham on Thursday morning as part of the 2012 OCAA Women's Basketball Championship.

A third-year forward, Bascoe (Ottawa) ranked fourth among OCAA players in steals with 64, fifth in points with 258, and sixth in rebounds with 157. She was also second in the league with a 50.5 field goal percentage, and ranked fourth with a 16.1 points per game average.

Bascoe had eight double-doubles during the regular season. Along with her player of the year award, Bascoe is a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) all-Canadian, as well as an OCAA East Division first-team all-star.

Corina Bruni (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) of Algoma is also a CCAA all-Canadian. The third-year guard ranked fourth among OCAA players with 264 points, third in steals with 65 and second in assists with 84. She ranked seventh with her 14.7 points per game average. Bruni is also an OCAA West Division first-team all-star.

Atissa Cronk (Kingston, Ont.) of Humber is the OCAA rookie of the year. The forward was one of four OCAA players to average a double-double during the regular season, averaging 11.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. She topped all players with a 59.9 field goal percentage shooting 85-of-142 and ranked third with 180 rebounds. Cronk was also named the West rookie of the year, and is a member of the West Division first-team all-stars and all-rookie team.

Sheridan fourth-year guard Nakia Arthur (Brampton, Ont.) was honoured as the OCAA scoring champion. The OCAA West region scoring leader averaged 23.2 points per game for a total of 417 points in 18 games. Arthur is also an OCAA West Division first-team all-star.

John MacInnis of Algonquin is the OCAA nominee for CCAA coach of the year. Named the top coach in the OCAA East region, MacInnis led his Thunder to the OCAA East region championship with a 15-1 record, winning 15 straight after a opening game setback. Spanning two seasons, the Thunder have won 36 of 38 in regular season as well as OCAA and CCAA post-season play.

Erin Emery (White Rock, B.C.) of Durham was honoured as the OCAA East region scoring champion. The guard averaged 18.4 points per game for a total of 295 in 16 games. Emery became just the third OCAA player to surpass 1,000 points, ending her five-year career with 1,067. Emery is also an OCAA East Division first-team all-star.

Algoma's Ryan Vetrie is the OCAA West coach of the year. Vetrie saw his Thunderbirds improve on their 2010-11 record by nine wins. Algoma won 10 of its last 11 games to end the regular season at 15-3, good for second place in the West region. Two of its wins came against OCAA West region champion Fanshawe. Algoma had a 6-8 record last season, and had not finished above .500 since 2006-07.

Jenni Thompson (Belleville, Ont.) of Loyalist is the OCAA East rookie of the year. Thompson was sixth in the OCAA averaging 14.9 points per game to lead her team. She also led the Lancers in steals with 46. Thompson is a member of the East second-team all-stars and its all-rookie team.

Seneca's Samantha Evans (Scarborough, Ont.) and Mohawk's Rachelle Abella (Hamilton, Ont.) were named defensive players of the year in the East and West regions, respectively. Evans, a fourth-year point guard led the OCAA with 80 steals. She also contributed 89 rebounds. Evans is also an OCAA East first-team all-star. Abella, a second-year guard, led the OCAA West with 67 steals. She also grabbed 110 rebounds.  Abella is also an OCAA West first-team all-star.

Along with Bascoe, Emery and Evans, George Brown's Aria Charles (Toronto) and Seneca's Tamara Nembhard (Toronto) earned OCAA East first-team all-star recognition. Joining Bruni, Cronk, Arthur and Abella as OCAA West first-team all-stars is Sheridan's Michelle Asare (Brampton, Ont.).

OCAA East second-team all-stars include Abeer Farhat (Ottawa) of Algonquin; Durham's Kelsey Hare (Whitby, Ont.); Danielle Horvat (Barrie, Ont.) of Georgian; and Kelly Killoran (Sarnia, Ont.) of Fleming-Peterborough along with Thompson.

Fanshawe's Natasha Amo (Toronto) and Kaitlind Dutrizac (London, Ont.); Niagara's Allana Arundell (Toronto); Algoma's Kayla Kiessig (Thunder Bay, Ont.); and Arica Price (Fort McMurray, Alta.) of St. Clair are the OCAA West second-team all-stars for 2011-12.

Joining Thompson on the OCAA East all-rookie team are Quichelle Barriffe (Toronto) of George Brown; Algonquin's Abeer Farhat (Ottawa); Paige Smith (Consecon, Ont.) of Seneca; and Keriann Sullivan (Scarborough, Ont.) of Durham.

The OCAA West all-rookie team consists of Cronk; Algoma's Misaki Kawai (Osaka, Japan) and Amanda Orr (Sarnia, Ont.); Janine DeLeon (Guelph, Ont.) of Fanshawe; and Keisha Giroux (Cobalt, Ont.) of Sault.

2011-12 OCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAJOR AWARDS

OCAA Player of the Year
Sandre Bascoe, Algonquin

CCAA All-Canadians
Sandre Bascoe, Algonquin
Corina Bruni, Algoma

OCAA Rookie of the Year
Atissa Cronk, Humber

OCAA League Scoring Champion
Nakia Arthur, Sheridan

CCAA Coach of the Year Nominee
John MacInnis, Algonquin

OCAA East Division Scoring Champion
Erin Emery, Durham

OCAA West Division Scoring Champion
Nakia Arthur, Sheridan

OCAA East Division Coach of the Year
John MacInnis, Algonquin

OCAA West Division Coach of the Year
Ryan Vetrie, Algoma

OCAA East Division Rookie of the Year
Jenni Thompson, Loyalist

OCAA West Division Rookie of the Year
Atissa Cronk, Humber

OCAA East Division Defensive Player of the Year
Samantha Evans, Seneca

OCAA West Division Defensive Player of the Year
Rachelle Abella, Mohawk

OCAA East Division Champions
Algonquin Thunder

OCAA West Division Champions
Fanshawe Falcons

OCAA East Division First-Team All-Stars
Sandre Bascoe, Algonquin
Aria Charles, George Brown
Erin Emery, Durham
Samantha Evans, Seneca
Tamara Nembhard, Seneca

OCAA West Division First-Team All-Stars
Rachelle Abella, Mohawk
Nakia Arthur, Sheridan
Michelle Asare, Sheridan
Corina Bruni, Algoma
Atissa Cronk, Humber

OCAA East Division Second-Team All-Stars
Abeer Farhat, Algonquin
Kelsey Hare, Durham
Danielle Horvat, Georgian
Kelly Killoran, Fleming P
Jenni Thompson, Loyalist

OCAA West Division Second-Team All-Stars
Natasha Amo, Fanshawe
Allana Arundell, Niagara
Kaitlind Dutrizac, Fanshawe
Kayla Kiessig, Algoma
Arica Price, St. Clair

OCAA East Division All-Rookie Team
Quichelle Barriffe, George Brown
Abeer Farhat, Algonquin
Paige Smith, Seneca
Keriann Sullivan, Durham
Jenni Thompson, Loyalist

OCAA West Division All-Rookie Team
Atissa Cronk, Humber
Janine DeLeon, Fanshawe
Keisha Giroux, Sault
Misaki Kawai, Algoma
Amanda Orr, Algoma

- OCAA -

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