2016 All-Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Team
LANCASTER, Pa. – Seniors Jessica Porada and Alyssa Polimeni of the Ursinus College women's basketball team were selected to the All-Centennial Conference team, wrapping up their collegiate careers with well-deserved honors. Porada was named to the first team, becoming the first player in program history to earn all-conference honors all four years, while Polimeni garnered honorable mention status and was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Porada and Polimeni played major roles in a turnaround campaign for the Bears, who finished 9-9 in conference play (11-14 overall) and fell just a game short of their first playoff bid in four years.
Porada was an honorable mention selection as a rookie and made the second team each of the last two years before making the leap to first-team laurels in her final season. A model of consistency, she ranked fourth in the CC with a team-high 15.0 points per game and pulled down 6.8 rebounds per contest, good for 16th in the league.
Porada registered four double-doubles during the 2015-16 season, giving her a total of 26 for her career. She leaves as the program's fourth-leading scorer (1,371) and rebounder (801) of all-time, and stands as one of only two players in team history to record at least 1,300 points and 800 rebounds. Porada is the seventh first-team selection in program history.
Polimeni joined the conference's elite for the first time in her standout tenure in Collegeville. Developing into one of the region's premier point guards, Polimeni consistently stuffed the stat sheet with her all-around capabilities. She averaged 12.6 points (10th CC), 6.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists (2nd CC) for the season, making her one of only two CC players to reach those figures. Polimeni led the league in free throws made (121) and attempted (172) by a wide margin, and her season total for made foul shots ranked second all-time at Ursinus.
A tireless worker, Polimeni was on the court for an average of 35.8 minutes per game, which ranked second in the conference. She flirted with triple-doubles on several occasions and eventually notched her first career double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds in a victory at Swarthmore on February 2.
Polimeni became the 14th member of the 1,000-point club at Ursinus in a win over Washington College on February 8, finishing her career with 1,034 markers. She broke her own school record with 128 assists this season, moving her into second in team history with 356. Polimeni is tied for fifth on the program's all-time charts with 159 steals.
A standout in the classroom as well as on the court, Polimeni was named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for the third time. A Health & Exercise Physiology major, she became the first Bear to earn Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, given to a junior or senior member of the all-conference team with the highest cumulative GPA.
Additionally, junior guard Libby Lannon was selected to the All-Sportsmanship Team. Lannon proved her value as the first player off the bench, giving Ursinus a disruptive defensive presence. She 3.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 assists per game, ranking second on the team in both assists and steals despite averaging just shy of 15 minutes of court time.