Damika Martinez Named All Met Player of the Year
MAAC Sports
NEW YORK – The 2013-14 All-Met Division I women’s college basketball teams have been announced by the Met Basketball Writers Association, and Iona College junior guard Damika Martinez has been named Player of the Year.
Other Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference student-athletes named to All-Met women’s teams include Fairfield University’s Katie Cizynski, Martinez’s teammate Joy Adams, Marist College’s Emma O’Connor, and Rider University’s MyNeshia McKenzie. That quintet will be among a number of student-athletes honored at the Met Basketball Writers Association Haggerty Dinner, the longest running college basketball awards program conducted by a media group in the United States, now in its 81st year.
Martinez, a 5-7 junior guard from Meriden, Connecticut was named the Met Player of the Year, and is a member of the All-Met First Team. The two-time MAAC Player of the Year ranked eighth nationally, and led the Conference in scoring with 24.9 points per game. Martinez also led the MAAC in three point field goals made netting 107, and free throw percentage shooting 88.1 percent on the season. She added 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game for the Gaels en route to her second All-Met First Team selection.
O’Connor, a 6-0 senior forward from Lynbrook, N.Y., joins Martinez as a member of the All-Met First Team. She led the Marist Red Foxes to their ninth consecutive MAAC Championship title. O’Connor led her team and ranked sixth in the MAAC in both scoring (13.6 points per game) and rebounding (6.8 per game). The All-MAAC First Team member also led the league in field goal percentage, shooting 55.9 percent and ranked second in three point field goal percentage, shooting 44.4 percent on the year.
Adams, a 5-11 sophomore forward from Orlando, FL. was named to the All-Met Second Team. She led the MAAC in rebounding and ranked third nationally with 13.8 per game. Adams led the league, and was tied for fifth nationally, with 26 total double-doubles in the 2014 season. She also contributed 16.8 points per game, good for fourth in the MAAC, and 1.8 steals per contest while being named to the All-MAAC First Team last season.
McKenzie, a 6-0 senior forward/guard from Springfield, Pennsylvania was named to the All-Met Second Team for the second consecutive season. She ranked second in the MAAC in scoring (19.5 points per game), rebounding (11.1 per game), and in double-doubles with 19. McKenzie was selected to the All-MAAC First Team and led the league in minutes played in 2013-14.
Cizynski, a 6-2 senior forward from Southbury, Conn., was named to the All-Met Third Team. She averaged 16.9 points, good for third in the MAAC, and 8.7 rebounds, good for fifth in the MAAC. Cizynski was also fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.497) and third in minutes played 35.8. She recorded a career-best 14 double-doubles en route to a unanimous All-MAAC First Team selection.
Award recipients will be honored at the 81st NIT/MBWA Haggerty Awards Dinner on April 22 at the Westchester Marriott.
FIRST TEAM
Damika Martinez, Iona 5-7, jr, G (Meriden, CT)
Kelsey Minato, Army 5-8, so, G (Huntington Beach, CA)
Erin Rooney, Fordham 5-8, sr, G (Christchurch, NZ)
Kahleah Copper, Rutgers 6-1, so, F (Philadelphia, PA)
Aliyyah Handford, St. John’s 5-9, so, G (Newark, NJ)
Emma O’Connor, Marist 6-0, sr, C (Lynbrook, NY)
SECOND TEAM
Tabatha Richardson-Smith, Seton Hall 6-0, so, G/F (Bay City, TX)
Joy Adams, Iona 5-11, so, F (Orlando, FL)
Ka-Deidre Simmons, Seton Hall 5-8, jr, G (Newark, NJ)
MyNeisha McKenzie, Rider 6-0, sr, G/F (Springfield, PA)
Gabby Washington, Sacred Heart 5-9, jr, G (Mesa, AZ)
THIRD TEAM
Katie Cizynski, Fairfield 6-1, sr, F (Southbury, CT)
Sabre Proctor, Stony Brook 6-0, jr, F (Harrisburg, PA)
Cleandra Roberts, LIU Brooklyn 6-0, sr, G/F (Miami, FL)
Tyler Scaife, Rutgers 5-9, fr, G (Little Rock, AR)
Abigail Corning, Fordham 5-10, sr, G (Wethersfield, CT)
Player of the Year: Damika Martinez, Iona
Rookie of the Year: Tyler Scaife, Rutgers
Coach of the Year: Beth O’Boyle, Stony Brook