Morrison Named D3Hoops.com Northeast Rookie of the Year

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts Boston freshman center Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) was named the 2012 D3Hoops.com Women's Basketball Northeast Region Rookie of the Year, while four Little East student-athletes were recognized on the All-Northeast teams this afternoon.

University of Southern Maine senior center Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine) earned a spot on the All-Northeast, first-team, while Rhode Island College placed senior guard Cynthia Gaudet (Coventry, R.I.) and senior center Rachel Riley (Coventry, R.I.) on the second and third team, respectively. Keene State College senior forward Courtney Cirillo (Windsor Locks, Conn.) completed the conference contingent on the regional fourth team.

Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools, who were contacted multiple times as the season wound down to remind them to make their players eligible. There were 683 players nominated nationwide, a new high. The ballot was then made available to SIDs, who voted for a predetermined number of players in their region. Regions that have fewer than 40 Division III teams have two teams. The Northeast, which is nearly twice that size, has four teams, while all other regions have three teams

Morrison is just the first Beacon to be chosen as the top rookie in the Northeast Region. The North Reading, Mass. product was tabbed as the Little East Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year, and earned a spot on the All-Little East, second team. A force in the low blocks, Morrison ranked among the conference leaders in scoring (2nd, 16.5 ppg), rebounding (3rd, 10.1 rpg), blocked shots (3rd, 1.6 bpg), and minutes played (7th, 32.0). She was nationally honored by D3Hoops.com on its Team of the Week after averaging 21.7 points and 10 rebounds for the week ending Feb. 19, 2012. Morrison broke into the UMass Boston starting lineup three games into the regular-season and made a major impact. A starter in 22 appearances, she reached double digits in scoring 21 times, including at least 20 points eight times. Morrison poured in a season-high 31 points at Eastern Connecticut on Jan. 14, 2012, while collecting a season-best 16 caroms at Plymouth State on Feb. 11. She also patrolled the paint for the Beacons, registering a total of 39 blocks. Morrison was selected as the conference’s top rookie performer in six of the 12 times the award was presented. She was also named the 2011 Little East Volleyball Rookie of the Year.

Cochran is making her debut on the D3Hoops.com All-Northeast team. The native of Waite, Maine was named the Little East Player of the Year, and represented her team on the All-Little East, first-team. Cochran led the Huskies and the conference circuit in scoring and rebounding averaging 18.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game while shooting a solid 47.6 percent (172-for-361) from the field. An adept free throw shooter, Cochran was among the conference leaders in free throw percentage at 80.5 percent (140-for-174). The 6-1 center notched 15 double-doubles during the season and scored at least 20 points on 10 occasions with a season and career-high best 34 points in a win over Western Connecticut on December 10, 2011. Cochran grabbed at least 10 rebounds 16 times throughout the season with a season 18 rebounds twice. Becoming the 20th USM women's basketball player to surpass 1,000 points in their career, Cochran finished her career with 1,075 points and is 16th all-time in scoring and has 767 rebounds which is 10th all-time.