CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - Daemen College women's basketball player Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) has been named to the East Coast Conference 2015-16 all-conference team. A 6-foot sophomore guard, Saba was a first-team selection by vote of the league's head coaches.
Saba was the only underclassman named to the first team, and becomes the first-ever women's basketball player from Daemen to earn first-team All-ECC honors. Saba becomes the third Daemen women's basketball player overall to be named All-ECC since the Wildcats joined the league prior to the 2012-13 academic year, joining former standouts Lindsay Stoddard and Shy Britton. Stoddard was a second-team selection in 2014, while Britton collected honorable mention honors last year.
The league also announced its major award winners for the 2015-16 season. New York Institute of Technology senior forward Dina Ragab was selected the Player of the Year, senior forward Samantha Courtney of Roberts Wesleyan College earned the Defensive Player of the Year honors and University of Bridgeport freshman guard Kadijah Dickson took home the Rookie of the Year award. In addition, Anthony Crocitto of NYIT was tabbed Coach of the Year by his peers. The Bears won a school-record 24 games and claimed the ECC regular-season title under his guidance.
Saba closed out the 2015-16 season as Daemen's leader in points (432), rebounds (165), blocks (44) and steals (36). She became the first player since former great Sarah Soroka in 2010-11 to lead the team in points, rebounding, blocks and steals. Saba scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games and scored 20 or more points nine times during the season. She currently ranks fifth among the ECC leaders in both points per game (16.6 ppg) and blocks per game, and also ranks 13th in rebounds per game (6.4 rpg).
Saba nearly led the Wildcats to an upset of regionally-ranked Roberts Wesleyan College on Jan. 12 with 24 points and four assists, and three days later scored a career-high 26 points in a 76-68 win at Long Island University - Post—Daemen's first-ever victory over the Pioneers. Saba was named the ECC Player of the Week in early February after leading the Wildcats to back-to-back wins over Dowling College and the University of Bridgeport. She opened the week by scoring 21 points in an overtime win over Dowling, and posted 25 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in the win over Bridgeport.
Additional highlights of the season included back-to-back double-doubles during a late-season weekend series with LIU Post and New York Institute of Technology. She racked up 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks as the Wildcats completed the season sweep of LIU Post (57-53), and followed up with 15 points and 10 boards in a 75-58 loss to regionally-ranked NYIT.
Saba burst onto the collegiate scene last year after an outstanding career at Lancaster High School. She scored in double figures 24 times as a rookie and was a six-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection. She led the team and ranked first among ECC freshmen in scoring (14.2 ppg) and also ranked second on the team and led all ECC freshmen in rebounding (7.2 rpg). Her efforts earned her second all-America honors from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).
Saba has played in all 55 games over the past two seasons (52 as a starter) and has totaled 843 points (15.3 ppg) and 375 rebounds (6.8 rpg). She has scored in double figures in 47 of her 55 career games and will enter her junior season just 157 points shy of becoming the 23rd player in program history to score 1,000 points.
Daemen closed out the year with a 9-17 overall record and a 7-13 showing in the ECC.
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