Sports Hotline
860-465-5756
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
TWO SELECTED TO ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
McDonald, Mosley named to women’s basketball all-star team
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior guard Sarah McDonald (WEYMOUTH, MA) and sophomore forward Sandy Mosley (GOSHEN) have been selected as first-team choices to the 2004/05 Little East Conference women’s basketball all-conference team.
The 5-foot-10 inch Mosley (at right in photo) repeated as an all-conference pick after being named to the second team as a redshirt freshman last year; the honor is the first in the career of the 5-foot-8 inch McDonald, who completed her first season as a fulltime starter this year.
Mosley led Eastern in scoring (13.0), field goals (128) and field goal attempts (295). McDonald was second in scoring (12.0) and led or shared the team lead in 11 individual statistical categories, among them rebounding average (6.4), assist average (3.3), field goal percentage (46.3), average minutes (30.0) and steals (32).
A total of 11 players were recognized with all-conference honors: six on the 
first team and five on the second team. Seven of eight conference schools were represented with a selection, with Eastern and regular-season and tournament champion University of Southern Maine awarded two first-team players each. Junior forward Ashley Marble of Southern Maine was named Player-of-the-Year, Western Connecticut State University freshman guard Ally Greenwood Rookie-of-the-Year and 18th-year Southern Maine head coach Gary Fifield Coach-of-the-Year for the fourth straight season. Marble is ranked in a tie for second in the conference in scoring (13.7) and second in rebounding (8.2) and field goal percentage (49.2).
With all conference teams except Southern Maine having completed their seasons, McDonald (pictured above) is currently ranked sixth in the conference in scoring, tied for sixth in rebounding, sixth in field goal percentage and fifth in assist average. Mosley is rated fourth in scoring and tenth in field goal percentage (43.4) and tenth in free throw percentage (70.9).
McDonald, a co-captain who had not started a game through her first three seasons, was one of three Eastern players to start as many as 25 games this year. She set personal career-highs in every individual statistical categories and totaled more points and assists and nearly as many rebounds this season as she had in her first three seasons combined. She became only the second player under 11-year head coach Denise Bierly to lead or share the team lead in both rebounding and assist average in the same season.
Season highlights for McDonald included being named to the season-opening Nancy K. Sulinski ’76 Memorial Basketball Tournament all-tournament team, when she had 27 points, 20 rebounds, ten assists and hit ten of 19 field goals; a career-high 31 points in a 100-94 double overtime conference win at Plymouth Stat Jan. 8, when she was 10-for-15 from the floor and 11-for-13 from the foul line; 25 points (10-for-15 from the floor) in an 88-64 conference road win over Massachusetts Dartmouth; and 15 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and a career-equaling seven assists in the final home game of her career, a 71-52 home win over Western Connecticut in the opening round of the conference tournament Feb. 22, in a game where she led the Warriors in all three of those categories.
Mosley led Eastern in scoring a team-high 11 times this year and in both scoring and rebounding three times. She becomes only the third Eastern player in 19 years of conference play to be named to the all-conference team as both a freshman and sophomore.
This year, Mosley (pictured at right) opened the season with the first of two double-doubles on the season with 19 points and ten rebounds in a 64-59 win over Johnson & Wales en route to all-tournament honors at the Nancy K. Sulinski ’76 Memorial Basketball Tournament. She had consecutive 19-point games in that tournament and totaled 17 rebounds and hit 15 of 26 field goals and seven of eight free throws in the tournament.
Additional highlights for Mosley: a career-tying 26 points (10-for-19 from the floor) as well as eight rebounds in a 96-68 home loss to Salem State Feb. 1 and her second double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds in an 88-64 conference road win over Massachusetts Dartmouth Feb. 12.
In 63 career games, Mosley has totaled 797 points (12.7 ppg.) and 329 rebounds (5.2 rpg.) and is already ranked ninth all-time with 56 three-point field goals. She scored 69 points and had 29 rebounds in six games in 2002/03 before missing the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Last year, she started all 31 games and averaged 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds on the way to second-team all-conference honors.
Eastern has now had 45 all-conference players in 19 years. This year, the Warriors had at least two first-team selections for the fourth time in six years.
This year, Eastern won 17 of 27 games, finished second in the conference with a 10-4 record and reached the conference tournament semifinals for the 16th time in 19 years following its first-round win over Western Connecticut. The Warriors missed post-season play for the first time in five years.
