TORONTO - St. Clair College's Shannon Kennedy was named the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women's basketball player of the year in a ceremony held in Toronto on Thursday morning as part of the 2015 belairdirect OCAA Women's Basketball Championship.
The OCAA west region scoring champion averaged 19.3 points per game, scoring a league-best 348 points. Named the OCAA's top rookie last season, Kennedy (Windsor, Ont.) was also among the league leaders with 146 rebounds, 48 steals and 22 blocks. The second-year Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) all-Canadian also headlines the OCAA west first-team all-stars.
Lindsay Panchan (Ajax, Ont.) of Durham College is also an all-Canadian. The OCAA east region and overall scoring champion averaged 25.0 points per game, a feat not accomplished since 2006-07. The third-year guard was also among the league leaders in steals with 50. Panchan is also a OCAA east first-team all-star.
Niagara College's Courtney McPherson (Welland, Ont.) is the OCAA west region and overall rookie of the year. McPherson was one of only four players who averaged a double-double this season, contributing 12.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. The forward is also an OCAA west second-team all-star and is a member of the OCAA all-rookie team.
Leticia Lopez (Toronto) of Loyalist College is the OCAA east region rookie of the year. The point guard was 16th in OCAA scoring averaging 12.4 points per game. She was also fifth in steals totaling 52. Lopez is also an OCAA east second-team all-star and is a member of the OCAA all-rookie team.
Remy Simpson of St. Lawrence College (Kingston, Ont.) is the OCAA east region coach of the year and is the OCAA nominee for CCAA coach of the year. Under Simpson's guidance the Vikings have gone from a 0-16 record in 2011-12 to east regional champions this season. St. Lawrence is the only OCAA team to defeat four-time defending champion Algonquin College in three seasons.
Mohawk College's Kevin Duffy is the OCAA west region coach of the year. Mohawk's second place finish was the best for the women's basketball program since 2001-02. The Mountaineers won 16 straight games at one point during the regular season.
Felicia Mazerolle (Elliot Lake, Ont.) of Algonquin College is the OCAA east region defensive player of the year. The fifth-year point guard was second in the OCAA with 62 steals on an Algonquin squad that gave up a league-low 43.1 points per game. She is also an OCAA east first-team all-star.
Mohawk's JenJen Abella (Hamilton, Ont.) is the OCAA west region defensive player of the year. The second-year guard was third in the region with 44 steals. She is also an OCAA west first-team all-star.
Joining Kennedy and Abella as OCAA west region first-team all-stars are Ceejay Nofuente (Toronto) of Humber College; Melissa Ellis (Sarnia, Ont.) of Lambton College; and Stef Hrymak (Hamilton, Ont.) of Mohawk.
Along with Panchan and Mazerolle, OCAA east region first-team all-stars include Lindsay Whittaker (Moncton, N.B.) of Algonquin; Samantha Reid (Toronto) of Centennial College; and Lacey Knox (Kingston, Ont.) of St. Lawrence-Kingston.
Joining McPherson as OCAA west region second-team all-star are Aleena Domingo (Toronto) and Llyandra Kerr (Scarborough) of Humber; Lindsay Moffatt (Hamilton, Ont.) of Redeemer University College; and Shylanda Saunders (Dartmouth, N.S.) of Sheridan College.
Along with Lopez, OCAA east second-team all-stars include Gretta Beals (Toronto) of Centennial; Hannah Pearsall (Guelph, Ont.) of Georgian College; Abby Heron (Brantford, Ont.) of St. Lawrence-Kingston; and Sarah Givens (Kingston, Ont.) of Seneca College.
McPherson and Lopez are joined on the OCAA all-rookie team by Alyxandrea Francisco (Whitby, Ont.) of Durham, Pearsall of Georgian; Torrie Handsor (Wallaceburg, Ont.) of St. Clair; and Teija Humalamaki (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) of Sault College.
2014-15 OCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAJOR AWARDS
OCAA Women's Basketball East Division Champions
St. Lawrence-Kingston Vikings
OCAA Women's Basketball West Division Champions
Humber Hawks
OCAA Women's Basketball Player of the Year
Shannon Kennedy, St. Clair
CCAA All-Canadians
Shannon Kennedy, St. Clair
Lindsay Panchan, Durham
OCAA Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year
Courtney McPherson, Niagara
OCAA Women's Basketball League Scoring Champion
Lindsay Panchan, Durham
OCAA Women's Basketball CCAA Coach of the Year Nominee
Remy Simpson, St. Lawrence-Kingston
OCAA Women's Basketball East Division Scoring Champion
Lindsay Panchan, Durham
OCAA Women's Basketball West Division Scoring Champion
Shannon Kennedy, St. Clair
OCAA Women's Basketball East Division Coach of the Year
Remy Simpson, St. Lawrence-Kingston
OCAA Women's Basketball West Division Coach of the Year
Kevin Duffy, Mohawk
OCAA Women's Basketball East Division Rookie of the Year
Leticia Lopez, Loyalist
OCAA Women's Basketball West Division Rookie of the Year
Courtney McPherson, Niagara
OCAA Women's Basketball East Division Defensive Player of the Year
Felicia Mazerolle, Algonquin
OCAA Women's Basketball West Division Defensive Player of the Year
JenJen Abella, Mohawk
OCAA Women's Basketball East Division First-Team All-Stars
Felicia Mazerolle, Algonquin
Lacey Knox, St. Lawrence-Kingston
Lindsay Panchan, Durham
Samantha Reid, Centennial
Lindsay Whittaker, Algonquin
OCAA Women's Basketball East Division Second-Team All-Stars
Leticia Lopez, Loyalist
Hannah Pearsall, Georgian
Abby Heron, St. Lawrence-Kingston
Gretta Beals, Centennial
Sarah Givens, Seneca
OCAA Women's Basketball West Division First-Team All-Stars
Ceejay Nofuente, Humber
JenJen Abella, Mohawk
Shannon Kennedy, St. Clair
Melissa Ellis, Lambton
Stef Hrymak, Mohawk
OCAA Women's Basketball West Division Second-Team All-Stars
Courtney McPherson, Niagara
Shylanda Saunders, Sheridan
Llyandra Kerr, Humber
Lindsay Moffatt, Redeemer
Aleena Domingo, Humber
OCAA Women's Basketball OCAA All-Rookie Team
Leticia Lopez, Loyalist
Hannah Pearsall, Georgian
Alyxandrea Francisco, Durham
Courtney McPherson, Niagara
Torrie Handsor, St. Clair
Teija Humalamaki, Sault
- OCAA -
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