Larochelle, Pantry Earn Second-Team All-NECC Honors
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Three Elms College women’s basketball players earned New England Collegiate Conference honors, the league announced on Monday. Senior Mackenzie Larochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) and junior Niah Pantry (New Haven, Conn.) were selected to the All-NECC Second Team while sophomore Rachel Granger (Hampden, Mass.) earned a spot on the All-NECC Sportsmanship Team.
Larochelle started all 27 games for the Blazers this season and was the team’s second-leading scorer with 10.7 points per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals. She scored in double-figures 13 times, including each of the last five games of the season. She poured in 20 or more points on three occasions, highlighted by a season-high 22 points against Fitchburg State on Nov. 28. Larochelle earned NECC All-Tournament Team recognition in 2016, ‘17, and ’18, and is a Second-Team All-NECC selection for the second consecutive season.
Pantry averaged a team-best 12.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in 2017-18. She shot 41.6 percent from the field and added 1.5 blocks per game. Her 11.5 rebounds per game ranked fifth in the NECC and 25th in all of Division III. Pantry scored in double-figures in 13 of her 23 games played during the season, including 12 of her first 19 games before being sidelined with injury for four games late in the season. She eclipsed the 20-point plateau five times, including a season-high 27 points on Jan. 16 against Bay Path.
Granger was selected to the All-NECC Sportsmanship Team after appearing in 20 games off the bench for Elms. The team consists of one player from each team in the conference.
Newbury’s Destiny Spears was selected as the NECC Player of the Year while Dean’s Jamaya Cleveland was picked as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Jaymesha Sanders of Newbury picked up NECC Rookie of the Year honors and Newbury coach Marc Taney was selected as the NECC Coach of the Year.
Spears headlines the All-NECC First Team, along with teammate Savannah Olsen, Becker’s Cassidy Harrison, Dean’s Morgan Turner, and Wheelock’s Katie Walsh. Joining Larochelle and Pantry on the All-NECC Second Team are Sanders, Shannon Rosensteel of Dean, and Cassidy Harrison of Becker. Dakota Jones (Lesley), Haley Garcia (Mitchell), Francesca Pinard (Mitchell), Maddy Main (Southern Vermont) and Emma Siver (Wheelock) make up the All-NECC Third Team.
First Team All-NECC
Cassidy Harrison, Becker (So., G, Foxborough, Mass.)
Morgan Turner, Dean (Sr., G/F, Winter Park, Fla.)
Savannah Olsen, Newbury (Jr., F, Battle Creek, Mich.)
Destiny Spears, Newbury (Sr., F, Arnold, Md.)
Katie Walsh, Wheelock (Jr., F, East Islip, N.Y.)
Second Team All-NECC
Adrianna Dowdy, Becker (Jr., F, East Haven, Conn.)
Shannon Rosensteel, Dean (So., F, Sunrise, Fla.)
Mackenzie Larochelle, Elms (Sr., G, Chicopee, Mass.)
Niah Pantry, Elms (Jr., F, New Haven, Conn.)
Jaymesha Sanders, Newbury (Jr. F, West Haven, Conn.)
Third Team All-NECC
Dakota Jones, Lesley (So., F, Torrance, Calif.)
Haley Garcia, Mitchell (So., G, South Windsor, Conn.)
Francesca Pinard, Mitchell (Jr., F, Arlington, Mass.)
Maddy Main, Southern Vermont (Jr., G, Bennington, Vt.)
Emma Siver, Wheelock (Sr., G, Colchester, Conn.)
All-NECC Sportsmanship Team
Jai Ruiz, Bay Path (Jr., G, Hadley, Mass.)
Sarah Ware, Becker (So., F, Oakham, Mass.)
Sophia Church, Dean (Fr., G, Rochester, Mass.)
Rachel Granger, Elms (So., G, Hampden, Mass.)
Elizabeth Portante, Lesley (Fr., F., Littleton, Mass.)
Marissa Sweeney, Mitchell (Fr., F, Hudson, N.H.)
Destiny Spears, Newbury (Sr., F, Arnold, Md.)
Bentleigh Harvey, Southern Vermont (Jr., F, Bennington, Vt.)
Gabrielle Haywood, Wheelock (Sr., F, Longmeadow, Mass.)
