12 @MEACSPORTS MEACSPORTS Hampton’s Tate-DeFreitas Selected Player of the Year; SSU’s Baker earns Coach of the Year Honors Hampton sophomore guard Malia Tate-DeFreitas was named the 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year. Norfolk State’s Kayla Roberts was selected as the Rookie of the Year, while Alexis Udoji from Maryland Eastern Shore earned the Defensive Player of the Year honor. Savannah State Head Coach Cedric Baker was named the MEAC Coach of the Year. All awards are voted on by the conference’s head women’s basketball coaches and sports information directors. Tate-DeFreitas led the conference in scoring, averaging 22.0 points and was second in steals per game (3.1) after starting in all 29 games for the Lady Pirates. She ranked 11th nationally in points and 14th in steals per game. Tate-DeFreitas recorded a career-high 39 points in a 106-57 victory against Howard and added 37 points in a road win against South Carolina State. A five-time MEAC Player of the Week, Tate-DeFreitas totaled 123 rebounds, 89 steals, 74 assists and 11 blocks. Roberts averaged 12.4 points and a conference-high 9.6 rebounds per game. She registered five 20-point games, including a career-high 26 points in a victory over Hampton. A seven-time MEAC Rookie of the Week selection, Roberts played in all 27 games and grabbed 258 rebounds with 199 off the defensive glass. Udoji, a two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, totaled 179 rebounds, including 99 on the defensive end, along with 49 blocked shots and 30 steals in 22 games for the Lady Hawks. She registered a season-high 12 rebounds against ACC opponent Virginia Tech and garnered a season-high six blocks against Georgetown. Offensively, she poured in 22 points, on 9-of-10 shooting, against Monmouth. Baker was named the Coach of the Year for the first time after guiding the Lady Tigers to an 18-10 overall mark, including a victory over Florida at home. He guided the Lady Tigers to a 13-3 conference mark and earned the No. 2 seed at the 2015 MEAC Basketball Tournament. Tate-DeFreitas is joined on the 2015 All-MEAC First Team by Savannah State’s Ezinne Kalu and Jasmine Norman, Delaware State’s Tierra Hawkins and Bethune-Cookman’s Kailyn Williams. Hampton clinched the MEAC regular season title on the last day, with a 64-49 victory over Norfolk State. The Lady Pirates will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed and will face the winner of the No. 8 Maryland Eastern Shore/No. 9 North Carolina Central matchup on Tuesday, March 10 at noon. Savannah State finished as the runners-up and earned the second seed. The Lady Tigers will meet the winner of No. 7 Morgan State/No. 10 Coppin State. The 2015 regular season champion, regular season runners-up, first team members and top honorees, including Player, Rookie, Defensive and Coach of the Year selections, will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to their first games of the 2015 MEAC Basketball Tournament. Tournament play tips-off March 9-14 at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR WOMEN’S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Cedric Baker, Savannah State Kayla Roberts, Norfolk State WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Malia Tate-DeFreitas, Hampton Alexis Udoji, Maryland Eastern Shore 2014-15 All-MEAC Women’s Basketball Teams FIRST TEAM Name Pos. Class Institution Hometown Ezinne Kalu G Sr. Savannah State Newark, N.J. Malia Tate-DeFreitas G So. Hampton Harrisburg, Pa. Jasmine Norman G/F Sr. Savannah State Alexandria, Va. Tierra Hawkins F r-Sr. Delaware State Clinton, Md. Kailyn Williams C r-So. Bethune-Cookman New Orleans, La. SECOND TEAM Name Pos. Class Institution Hometown Rae Corbo G r-Sr. Norfolk State Englewood, N.J. Tracey Carrington G Sr. Morgan State Baltimore, Md. Kourtney Williams G/F Sr. South Carolina State Warren, Ohio Kayla Roberts F Fr. Norfolk State Miami Gardens, Fla. Aprill McRae C r-Jr. North Carolina A&T State Raleigh, N.C. THIRD TEAM Name Pos. Class Institution Hometown Jessica Long G Sr. Maryland Eastern Shore Fort Washington, Md. Debbie Smith G r-Sr. North Carolina A&T State Hampton, Va. Ryan Jordan G/F Jr. Hampton Manassas, Va. Alexis Udoji F r-Jr. Maryland Eastern Shore Randolph, Mass. Tiyonda Davis C So. Savannah State Athens, Ga. ALL-ROOKIE TEAM Name Pos. Class Institution Hometown Breannan Farrar G Fr. Morgan State St. Louis, Mo. Dawn King G Fr. Florida A&M Waxahachie, Texas Genesis Lucas G r-Fr. Coppin State Brandywine, Md. Kayla Roberts F Fr. Norfolk State Miami Gardens, Fla. Moengaroa Subritzky G r-Fr. Maryland E. Shore Auckland, New Zealand PLAYERS OF THE WEEK N17 Khyra Conerly NCCU N24 Tracey Carrington MSU D1 Kayla Crawford B-CU D8 Malia Tate-DeFreitas HAM D8 Rae Corbo NSU D15 Jessica Long UMES D22 Rae Corbo NSU D29 Alexus Hicks UMES J5 Alexis Udoji UMES J5 Malia Tate-DeFreitas HAM J12 Jordan Swails CSU J19 Tierra Hawkins DSU J26 Rae Corbo NSU F2 Malia Tate-DeFreitas HAM F9 Tierra Hawkins DSU F16 Kyani White HAM F23 Malia Tate-DeFreitas HAM M2 Malia Tate-DeFreitas HAM M3 Raven Bankston DSU DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK N17 Terrneisha Hollis B-CU N24 Alexis Udoji UMES N24 Kailyn Williams B-CU D1 Racquel Davis NCCU D8 Eboni Ross NCAT D15 Alexis Udoji UMES D22 Eboni Ross NCAT D29 Moengaroa Subritzky UMES J5 Zuri White MSU J12 Tisha Dixon NCCU J19 Kailyn Williams B-CU J26 Racquel Davis NCCU F2 Kayla Roberts NSU F9 Nikkei Blackburn DSU F16 Kailyn Williams B-CU F23 Nikkei Blackburn DSU M2 Kailyn Williams B-CU ROOKIE OF THE WEEK N17 Tykyrah Williams MSU N24 Kayla Roberts NSU D1 Kayla Roberts NSU D8 Dawn King FAMU D15 Braennan Farrar MSU D22 Braennan Farrar MSU D29 Moengaroa Subritzky UMES J5 Moengaroa Subritzky UMES J12 Kayla Roberts NSU J19 Kayla Roberts NSU J26 Moengaroa Subritzky UMES F2 Kayla Roberts NSU F9 Kayla Roberts NSU F16 Kayla Roberts NSU F23 Genesis Lucas CSU M2 Kaylah Lupoe HAM 2014-15 REGULAR SEASON REVIEW Malia Tate-DeFreitas Hampton
2015-16 MEAC Women's Basketball Yearbook
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