White Named Female Athlete of the Year

ECC Player of the Year led Daemen women's basketball to Elite Eight

5/14/2021 5:58:00 PM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

AMHERST, N.Y. – Basketball standout Caroline White (Fairport, N.Y.) has been named the Daemen College Female Athlete of the Year. The announcement was made at the 2021 Wildcat Night of Honors ceremony Friday night. 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.

White, who was unable to be in attendance today, 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. The forward was also named the 2020-21 East Coast Conference Player of the Year.

White closed out the season as one of only six players to appear in all 17 games and was Daemen's leader in minutes played (541), points (259), rebounds (145), field goals made (93), free throws made (49), minutes played (31.8) and points per game (15.2.) She also managed to rank second on the team in made three-point field goals (24), tied for second in steals (19 and fourth in assists (38). White also finished as the ECC rebounding leader (8.5) and second in points per game (15.2) and ranked 35th among NCAA Division II in offensive rebounds per game (3.6.)

"Caroline had an amazing year," said head coach Jenepher Banker. "She is an outstanding leader with a work ethic that is second to none. Her hard work has earned her every award she has received this year and I'm so happy she has been honored in so many ways."

Including her 17-point, 11-rebound performance in Daemen's season-opening victory over Mercyhurst on January 16, their first game in 314 days, White scored in double-figures 14 times, including in all of Daemen's last nine games. She scored 20 or more points in four contests and recorded a new career-high 23 points on 5-of-7 shooting in a victory against rival Roberts Wesleyan on February 7. White was a major contributor for the Wildcats in the postseason and finished in double-figure scoring in all five postseason contests. With her team-high 20 points, White helped the Wildcats record their first victory in the NCAA Tournament in program history versus Georgian Court, 73-54, on March 13. White followed this up in the NCAA East Regional championship in a rematch of the ECC Championship, against Roberts Wesleyan, 58-40. That night, she reached the 1,000-point plateau for her career, becoming the 26th player in program history to do so, and the second player this season (Tiara Filbert.) The milestone came as part of a 13-point outing along with a game-high 16 rebounds, her fifth and final double-double of the season. White then led Daemen one last time this spring with a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds 66-49, in their Elite Eight loss to Lubbock Christian, the number one team in NCAA Division II, on March 23 in Columbus, Ohio.

Not only was White named the ECC Player of the Year, the veteran was named to the All-ECC First Team for a second straight year and was named a Division II Honorable Mention All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). White was also a part of a Daemen team that finished the season eighth in both the WBCA top 25 coaches' poll and the 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.

Over the past four seasons, White appeared in 98 games (72 as a starter) and totaled 1,032 points (10.4 ppg), 589 rebounds (6.0 rpg), 122 assists and 81 steals. She finishes her career ranked 23rd on Daemen's career scoring list, and she scored in double figures 51 times in her career.

White becomes the third women's basketball player to earn the award, which was instituted in 2012, joining Sarah Saba (2018) and Monica Kosior (2013.) Past winners also include soccer players Jamie Boyar (2019, 2020) and Lindsay Miller (2012), cross country/track standout Mackenzie Donohue (2017, 2016, 2015) and volleyball player Ye Wang (2014).

Additional nominees for the 2020-21 Female Athlete of the Year award were volleyball player Jenn Heritz (Granger, Ind.), track and field runner Kassandra Nolet (Fort Erie, Ont.) and White's teammate, Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.).

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.

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