2008-09 Yearly Awards

Coach of the Year

Adrienne Shibles Bowdoin College Bowdoin College first year head coach Adrienne Shibles has been named 2008-09 New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) Coach of the Year. Shibles led the Polar Bears to their eighth NESCAC Championship and ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Her team finished the year with an overall record of 24-5 and a league mark of 8-1. Shibles guided her squad  to wins in 21 of their final 24 contests after a 3-2 start to the season. Though her team tackled the fifth toughest schedule in Division III, they excelled defensively, ranking second in the NESCAC at 53.0 points allowed per game. Even more impressive, the Polar Bears allowed just six opponents to surpass 60 points this season. Shibles was named the sixth head coach in Bowdoin's history in June. Prior to joining the Polar Bears staff, she served as the Athletic Director at Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine. She was the head coach of the women's basketball program at Swarthmore College from 1996-2005, posting a school record 138 wins. In 2001, she was named WBCA District 4 Coach of the Year. Over the course of her tenure, she sparked a dramatic turnaround that saw the Garnet go from 7-17 one year prior to her arrival in 1997 to a school record 23 wins and a Centennial Conference Championship just four years later. In her last five seasons at Swarthmore, Shibles averaged over 19 wins per year, qualified for the Centennial Conference Tournament four times, claimed the 2001 conference title and earned the program's first ever NCAA Tournament bid. A 1991 graduate of Bates College, Shibles is a native of Knox, Maine and graduate of Mount View High School. At Bates, she was a two time captain of the women's basketball team and a 1,000-point scorer. After graduating with a degree in History and American studies from Bates, she went on to coach basketball at Babson College and basketball and soccer at Colby College. She later enrolled in a graduate program in Exercise and Sports Studies at Smith College, where she earned a master's degree in 1996. While at Smith she worked as assistant and then head basketball coach at Elms College.

Player of the Year

Val Beckwith Bates College • Senior •  Forward • Woburn, Mass. Bates College senior forward Val Beckwith has been named the 2008-09 New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) Player of the Year. The All-America finalist racked up 18.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game while starting all 25 contests for the third straight season. It was the third straight year that she led her squad in scoring. Beckwith, was named NESCAC Player of the Year and State of Maine Player of the Year. She earned NESCAC Player of the Year honors twice and NEWBA Player of the Week once. For the season, she converted 45.0% of her shots from the field and 74.7% of her free throw attempts. Beckwith finished her career as the second leading scorer in Bates history. Her 1,470 career points were just eight shy of the program record held by Emily King '00. She tallied a career high 28 points in a 71-52 win over Colby College on January 24. During the 2008-09 campaign, the forward set school records for free throws made (142) and attempted (190) in a season and for free throws made in a career (392). The team captain took home First Team All-State honors for the third consecutive season and All-NESCAC honors for three years in a row as well.

Rookie of the Year

Nicole Wurdeman Babson College • First Year •  Forward • Rowley, Mass. Babson College first year Nicole Wurdeman has been named 2008-09 New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) Rookie of the Year. The forward helped the Beavers to the NEWMAC Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. She started all 29 games, piling up 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per outing. Wurdeman shot a team best 50.6% from the floor, including 37.8% from beyond the arc. She knocked down 69.9% of her free throw attempts. Wurdeman earned NEWBA Rookie of the Week honors three times and NEWBA Player of the Week accolades once. The NEWMAC Rookie of the Year was a three time NEWMAC Player of the Week and was selected to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team. She was named to the All-Tournament Team at both the Babson Invitational and the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout. In addition to her fine play on the offensive end of the floor, Wurdeman was also one of Babson's top defenders. She posted nine double-doubles over the course of the season.

All-Region First Team
Andrea Wasuk, Westfield State College (Sr, F, Lenox, Mass.) - Wasuk earned MASCAC Player of the Year accolades after leading Westfield State to an NCAA Tournament bid. She posted team highs of 14.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for the Owls, who captured both the MASCAC regular season and  tournament titles. The forward collected MASCAC All-Conference honors for the third straight season. She scored nearly 1,400 points in her career. Ashley McFetridge, Eastern Connecticut State University (Sr, C, Canton, Conn.) - McFetridge was selected as LEC Player of the Year for the second straight season. She earned LEC All-Conference First Team accolades and was also selected to the LEC All-Defensive Team. The center racked up a program best 158 blocks over her career. Her 1,364 career points are good for fourth in Warriors history. McFetridge tallied 13.9 points, 8.1 boards and 1.8 blocks per outing this winter.  Val Beckwith, Bates College (Sr, F, Woburn, Mass.) - Beckwith was named NESCAC Player of the Year, NEWBA Player of the Year and State of Maine Player of the Year. The All-America finalist racked up 18.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game while starting all 25 contests for the third straight season. Beckwith finished her career as the second leading scorer in Bates history (1,470 points). Jessica Chapin, Brandeis University (Jr, G, Mendon, N.Y.) - Chapin averaged 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.0 steals for Brandeis. She earned UAA First Team All-Conference accolades and was also named UAA Player of the Week once. The guard helped the Judges to an appearance in the NCAA Tourament.  Ali Fourney, Wesleyan University (Sr, G, East Northport, N.Y.) - Fourney led the NESCAC in scoring for second year in a row with 18.7 points per game. She also registered 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.7 steals per outings. The guard was voted to the NESCAC All-Conference First Team for the second year in a row. She is the Cardinals all-time leading scorer (1,498 points) and holds the program record for career free throws made (335).
Wasuk	McFetridge	Beckwith	Chapin	Fourney

All-Region Second Team
Stacey Kent, University of Southern Maine (Sr, F, Northwood, N.H.) - Kent was selected to the LEC All-Conference First team after averaging 15.3 points and 5.7 boards per contest. The forward drained 38.1% (45-118) of her attempts from beyond the arc. She was named LEC Player of the Week once and was voted to the Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches Association First Team. Kent also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team accolades this winter. Corey Finch, Springfield College (Sr, C, Hanover, Pa.) - Finch was named NEWMAC Player of the Year and was selected to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team. The forward amassed team highs of 15.5 pints and 8.8 boards per outing while shooting 46.9% from the field. She recorded ten double-doubles and tallied 20 points or more on five occasions.  Nicole Wurdeman, Babson College (Fy, F, Rowley School) - Wurdeman was named NEWMAC Rookie of the Year and NEWBA Rookie of the Year. The forward helped the Beavers to the NEWMAC Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. She started all 29 games, piling up 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per outing. Wurdeman shot a team best 50.6% from the floor, including 37.8% from beyond the arc. Melissa Martinelli, Coast Guard Academy (Jr, C, Vero Beach, Fla.) - Martinelli was voted to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team after leading the league 19.8 points per game. She grabbed 8.9 boards per game, shot 53.1% from the floor and conected on 78.0% of her free throw tries. The center gathered ten double-doubles this year, and she had 12 games with 20 or more points. She registered 30 or more points on four occasions. Martinelli became the seventh player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 point plateau. Kristin Degou, Keene State College (Jr, G, Newburyport, Mass.) - Degou collected LEC All-Conference First Team honors after amassing 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 boards per contest. She was also voted to the LEC All-Defensive Team. The guard reached double digits in the scoring column 21 times and scored a season best 21 points twice.
Kent	Finch	Wurdeman	Martinelli	Degou