Paige Named Female Newcomer of the Year

5/14/2021 5:56:00 PM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

paige newcomer 2 — Alahna Paige is the 2020-21 Female Newcomer of the Year

AMHERST, N.Y. – Alahna Paige (Rochester, N.Y.), a freshman guard on the women's basketball team, has been named the Daemen College Female Newcomer of the Year. The announcement was made today at the Wildcat Night of Honors, an annual event held at Lumsden Gymnasium to recognize the achievements of the college's intercollegiate teams and student-athletes.

Named the East Coast Conference Rookie of Year, Paige led the Wildcats to their second consecutive East Coast Conference regular season title, their first NCAA East Regional championship and their first appearance in the Elite Eight in program history as part of a 14-3 campaign this past winter.

Paige closed out the season as only one of six players to appear in all 17 games, 16 as a starter, in the backcourt for head coach Jenepher Banker. Paige finished her freshman campaign as the team leader in total assists (56) and assists per game (3.3), placing her second and third in those categories, respectively, among the ECC leaders. Paige also recorded five or more assists in a contest six times, including a season-high seven assists at Gannon on January 29. Paige also finished ranked second in total minutes (460), third in minutes per game (27.1) and averaged 6.7 points per game. Paige ranked among the ECC's top-10 leaders in total minutes (sixth) and free throws (10th.)

"Alahna did a fantastic job in her first year," said Banker. "She came in and did everything we asked her to do to help make this team successful. She is a team player and did a great job on the defensive end of the floor as well."

In 34 minutes off the bench, Paige scored a season-high 28 points on a game-high 10-of-13 shooting and 7-of-8 from beyond the arc in Daemen's regular season finale victory versus St. Thomas Aquinas, 67-49, on February 28. Her seven made three-pointers were the most by a Daemen player in the NCAA era (2015-present) since Ashli Jeune accomplished the feat on January 10, 2020 versus Queens College. This performance came one day after she recorded her season-best nine rebounds along with four points and five rebounds in Daemen's 61-44 win against this same Spartans team. Paige also recorded 13 points, including three three-pointers, along with five assists and three rebounds in Daemen's 86-54 win at Mercy on February 20. Paige also contributed 10 points and five rebounds in Daemen's 58-42 victory at Roberts Wesleyan on February 17.

Paige was also a part of a Daemen team that finished the season eighth in both the WBCA top 25 coaches' poll and the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media polls. This is the program's highest ascent in the Division II national rankings and the first time the Wildcats finished a season nationally-ranked since transitioning to the NCAA from the NAIA.

Paige becomes the second women's basketball player to earn the award, which was instituted following the 2016-17 season. She joins teammate Katie Titus, who shared the award with women's volleyball player Isa McCaffrey in 2019. Other past winners include triathletes Courtney Merrill (2020) and Amber Custodi (2018) soccer player Jamie Boyar (2017).

Additional Female Newcomer of the Year nominees for 2020-21 were soccer player Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.), volleyball player Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.), track and field thrower Paige Pavelski (East Aurora, N.Y.) and tennis player Frida Rubio (San Diego, Calif.).

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

Print Friendly Version