MAR-03-95 11 , 36 FROM , NORTH ATLANTIC CONF Jo , 2078667052 PAGE 1

NORTHEASTERN'S KATASHA ARTIS GRABS HER SECOND NAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONOR MAINE'S BLODGETT IS VOTED LEAGUE'S TOP ROOKIE

ORONO, Maine-Northeastern University senior forward Katasha Artis has been unanimously selected as the league's choice to be1995 North Atlantic Conference Women's Ba$ketball Player ofthe Year. while rookie Cindy Blodgett of the University of Maine has been unanimously tabbed as the conference's Rookie of the Year. Additionally, University of Maine head coach Joanne Palombo­ McCallie has been selected as the 1995 NAC Coach of the Year. Artis and Blodgett headlino an All-Conference line-up thatfeatures player• from seven of the nine member-schools in the NAC. League honors are voted upon by the nine head coaches in the North Atlantic Conference and coordinated through the league office.

Artis has been an impact player since joining the Northeastern squad three seasons ago. After capturing Rookie of the Year honors in 1992-93, she went on to share the Player of theY ear award with Vermont's Sheri Turnbulllastseason. The 6-0 senior forward holds the NAC records for field goals in a season. field goal attempts and blocked shots. She bested her own previous mark for field goals and attempts this season when she hit 134 of335 shOts. Her 49 blocks last season remains the NAC high in that category. Her 20.0 points per game leads Northeastern and the conference. Her 8. 9 rebounds is second in the conference. Latt season, Artis setthe NU record for highest scoring average in a sea•on. dumping in 20.8 points per game. This season she passed Carrine Jones on NU'a all-time scoring list, and is now secondwth 1,450 points. She is also the second-leading rebounder in Northeastern history. with 757. Artis was a three-time North Atlantic Conference Player of the Week selection this season .

EKpeetations were high for Blodgett entering the season and she did not disappoint. Hailed as a rour-time USA Today Maine Ptayer of the Year. Blodgett nears the end of a record-breaking rookie campaign at Maine. In the team's final regular-sea&on game she broke the UMaine freshman scoring record by going over the 500-point plateau. In that game she also broke the NAC record for steals in a season (conference games only) with 63. Earlier she became the first freshman in league history to capture Player of the Week honors, going on to claim those three times and top rookie honors fi'lle times during the season. She leads Maine in scoring averaging 19.6 points per game, which places her second In the teague to Artis. She also ranks among the league's top 10 in steals (3rd), field goal percentage (5th), three-point percentage (2nd), assists (6th) and free throw percentage (8ttt}. Her 34 points versus New Hampshire was tied with BU't Julie Schmidt as the high in conference games this year.

Maine head coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie, in her third year at the helm of the Black Bears. earns her first NAC Coach of the Year honor and the first honor bestowed upon the University of Maine in the 10-year history of the award. Maine was a preseason pick to fini~ fi~t and that they did. Posting their second-consecutive 20-win season. Maine finished the regular season with a 21 -5 record and laid claim to its second-straight regular-season NAC title. An upset win over then tenth-ranked Alabama In earty January marked the school's first-ever win over a ranked opponent and propelled tho team into the national spotlight. ln subsequent weeks, the Black Beara garnerEJd votes in the AP and USA Today/CNN polls. Palombo-McCallie is a native of Brunswick, Maine and was the state of Maine's first Parade Mogszlne girl's baskotba!l All-American in 1983 prior to herstellarplaylng career at Northwestern University where she was a four-year letter winner for the Wildcats.

All eight North Atlantic Conference schools are represented on this year's AU-Conference teams. Joining Artis and Blodgett as members of the first team are Uni'lersity of Vermont senior guard Kari Greenbaum. University of Delaware senior forward Colleen McNamara and Boston University senior forward Julie Schmidt Greenbaum became Vermont's seventh player to score 1·,000 points In a career. and also eclipsed the school mark for three-point field goals in a career. She now has 451 points this season and 1,235 in her career. along with 103 career treys. Greenbaum is ranked third in the conference in scoring with a 17.3 points per game average. She also makes the NAC's top ten In field goal percentage (9th •.423), free throw percentage (3rd, .765), assists (4th, 3.9 apg) and steals (9th. 2.4 spg}. McNamara has led the Delaware Blue Hens in scoring for the past two seasons. averaging 16.4 points per outing in 1994- 95. A second-team AII·NAC selection in 1994, the UO senior currently ranks slxth among the conference scoring leaders. McNamara became only the second Delaware woman to score 1.000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a career. She now stands at 1,544 points and 1, 046 boards in her four-year stint. She needs just seven pointa to tie the aU-time scoring mark at Delaware. and already holds the all-time rebounding mark there. McNamara also ranks among the NAC leaders in rebounding (3rd, 8.6 rpg), field goal percentage (6th, .457), blocked shots (3rd, '\ .3 bpg) and free\hrow per~ntage(Sth, .125). McNamara was named NAC Rookie of !he Yearln 1991-92. Schmidt, has led her Boston University Terriers to a fourth-place seed in the 1995 NAC Women's Basketball Tournament, 'Ilia her 16.3

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NAC WJJII AU.--CONfi'I~'NI;;JVCI•..'IIONORS/I'i1ge 2

points por gamo, good tor :.ev~nth among the NAC's scoring leaders. Scllmidt. a 1993-94 second-feam All NAC ~eledion , rank~ first on the NAC loader board ifl steal$ (3.9 spg) Sho also ranks among the NAC's top ten in blocked shofs (5th, 1 0 tJpg) and field goal percentage (3rd. _501) . Schmidt is the ninth noston University woman to score 1 .000 career pointr.

The Univorsity of Main~ ;,nd Drexel University both place two players on the second team .hm-ror 1orwat d Slepltanie G\lidi and s-ophomore center Stacey Porrini join Drexel University senior guard Leslie Reiner and sophomore forward Jen MacNeill. Hotstm University junior forward Meg O'Brien joins the others as a second-team AII -NAC selection_Guidi surpa~sed th~ 1 ,000 c:an~er-poinl mark during this season and now averages 11 . 1 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. MCtcNcill, the North Atlantic Contcrencc 1-(ookic ofthe Year last season. now ranks firstin the league in rflhounding (9 1 rpg) and ninth in scOfing ( 15 0 ppg) 0 ·Oricn a no hell fotstt a Flying Dutchworncn finislled their first year of NAC competition with an eighth-place seed in the tournmw~nt nnd a homt~ site for I he preliminary {Jamr. O'Oricn led the Dutch in scoring {15 9 ppg) which places her eighth in the confemnce She also r:tnks scventh in the NAC in steals (7. .4 spg) and ninth in assists (3 4 apg). Porrini has beon a dominant force in the centcrfor Metine Her 13.0 points pEngarno (2nd on the team) and8.5 reboundsporouting{ 1:;ton the team. 4th inthe NACJ, have helped the Black l:!eC~rS to theirscconcf­ consecutive Regular-Season NAC Championship. Heiner, a first-team selection a year ago,led her Orexcl Ura~JOil!ll to"' sixth -place finish in tho league with her 16 9pointsper game, good for fo~n1h in the league. Reiner also nmkes thl" NAC's top h:m in steals (8th. 2.4 spg), assists (3ro. 4.5 apg) and free throw per(".cntagJ) (5th . .732) . She :.tlso broke NAC rc~uletr-season reco•ds, this ye)ar, i11 rmc throws m

.Joining modgett on the 1994-95 North Atlantic Conference All-Rookie team are I on Taylor, a freshman gunrd fur the University of Vermont. Now Hamp!ihin:n; rookie guard Kelly Karl, Hofstra's freshman conter Kate Gordon andAnett~: Prrcy. a rookieforwani for the University ofOclawam- r aylor quickly made a name tor herself among the Vf.'rmolltfaithful. a~ she leads th~ If'ague in thrt.l~·poinl field goal percentage. hitting 50-of-133 treys (.376) _She now holds NAC regular-season records infiald goal i:l\lf:'mpts in a ~a-:;on (335}. 3-pointfieldgoals in a game (6 vs Delaware), 3-pointfield goals made in a snason (34) and 3-poi,,t field goal ~tte111pts in ~i sea!>ou (63). Karl averages 9 5 points per game (3rd on the team) and is ranked eighth i11 thr.leagu~ in a:;sistr. wilh 3 fi pet gmm:. Gordon m;~kt~:; four NAC fop-ten lists; 10111 in scoring at 14.2 ppg. 1oth in rebounding, with 7 5 rpg. fifth in steals. with 2 .9 spg nnd ti~d tor :;i:dh in fidn goal percentage, hitting 148 or 324 attempts for a .45 7 pmcentage, and ranks second on her team in ~coring , •111<1 tirst inl(!hounding. Percy ostablishcd hcmclf as a starter early-on for the Blue l-iens and went on to avl'!rage with 11 5 ppg (3rd on the team). and 6.3 robouncls per game (3r

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NAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS/Page 3

1995 NORTH ATLANTIC ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS

FIRST TEAM tum~ Scboot Cl. em;. HL HQ!rultow.n Kat.asha Artis Northeastern University Sr F 6·0 Brooklyn, NY Cindy Blodgett University of Maine Fr G 5-9 Clinton. Mame Kari Greenbaum University of Vermont Sr G 5-6 Brattleboro. Vt Colleen McNamara University of Delaware Sr F 6-0 Clarksburg, N .I Julie Schmidt Boston Umvcrsity Sr F 5-10 North Attleboro, M

SECOND TEAM ~IM ~O! Cl.. .PoL Mt. Homotow.n Stephanie Guidi University of Maine Jr F 6-0 Stormville, N Y Jen MacNeill Drexel University So F 6-0 Egg H

All-ROOKIE TEAM Nlmt Sdm,ol ~I. fQ.~ • .fib Honuttown Cindy Blodgett University of Maine Fr G 5-9 Clinton. Mamc Lori Taylor University of Vermont Fr G 5-9 Markham, Ontario Kelly Karl University of New Hampshire Fr G 4-11 Libertyville . Ill Kate Gordon Hofstra University Fr. c 6-0 East Islip, N Y Anette Percy University of Delaware Fr_ F 6-? Malmo. Sweden

PLAYER OEI.HE.Y..EAR Katasfla Artis. Northeastern University

RQQKIEJ2f THE .YEAR Cindy Blodgett. University of Mame

COACH OE..ItfE.YEAR Joanne Palombo-McCallie, University of Maine