Rutgers-Newark’s Faith Ashby Named NJAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year

by
Media Release
February 20, 2019

Pitman, NJ—Rutgers University-Newark senior guard Faith Ashby (Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck) and The College of New Jersey’s sophomore forward Shannon Devitt (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) have been selected as the New Jersey Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year respectively for the 2018-19 season. Their selections highlighted the 18-member NJAC women’s basketball all-conference team which was announced on February 20. All selections were made via a vote of the league’s 10 head coaches and were based on conference-only statistics.

A three-time NJAC all-conference selection, Ashby wrapped up NJAC league play as the leader in conference-only steals (3.7 per game), while also ranking second in minutes played (38.3 per conference game). A two-time NJAC Player of the Week honoree during her senior season, Ashby also finished third in conference-only assists (3.6 per game), fifth in conference-only scoring (16.4 points per game) and 12^th in conference-only rebounding (6.9 per game).

Devitt, who earned the NJAC Rookie of the Year award last year, finished her second NJAC season as the league-leader in both conference-only rebounding (13.0 per game) and conference-only field goal percentage (.567). A four-time NJAC Player of the Week selection this year, Devitt also finished NJAC play ranked fourth in conference-only blocks (1.7 per game), and seventh in conference-only scoring (15.4 points per game).

Kean University freshman guard Shannon McCoy (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) was selected as the NJAC Rookie of the Year. A four-time NJAC Rookie of the Week selection, McCoy finished her first NJAC season as the league-leader in conference-only three-point field goals made per game (2.6). McCoy also ranked second in conference-only scoring (18.3 points per game), fifth in conference-only free throw percentage (.732), and fifth in conference-only three-point field goal percentage (.338).

The College of New Jersey’s Chessie Jackson was named NJAC Coach of the Year by her peers for the second consecutive season. Jackson, who earned a share of the award in 2017-18, led this year’s Lions to the NJAC regular season championship with a league-best 15-3 mark in conference play and a 17-8 record overall. In two seasons at the helm of the Lions’ program, Jackson has guided TCNJ to an overall record of 39-15 and a mark of 30-6 in NJAC play.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:		Faith Ashby, Rutgers-Newark
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:		Shannon Devitt, TCNJ
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:		Shannon McCoy, Kean
COACH OF THE YEAR:		Chessie Jackson, TCNJ

FIRST TEAM
Name	School	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Faith Ashby%+	Rutgers-Newark	SR	G	Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck
Marajiah Bacon*^	NJCU	SR	G	Neptune, NJ/Neptune
Jen Byrne$	TCNJ	JR	F	Medford, NJ/Shawnee
Shannon Devitt	TCNJ	SO	F	Westfield, NJ/Westfield
Shannon McCoy	Kean	FR	G	Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat

SECOND TEAM
Name	School	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Jenna Harsh%	Ramapo	JR	F	Metuchen, NJ/Bishop Ahr
Alex McKinnon	Montclair State	JR	F	Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe
Dominique Peters	Rowan	JR	F	Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence
April Peterson	Stockton	SR	F	Lafayette, NJ/High Point Regional
Fatimah Williams	Rutgers-Camden	JR	G	Camden, NJ/Timber Creek

HONORABLE MENTION
Name	School	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown/High School
Hannah Ashby	Rutgers-Newark	JR	G	Teaneck, NJ/Teaneck
Kim Calloway	Montclair State	SO	G	Morristown, NJ/Morristown
Samantha Famulare	TCNJ	SR	G	Freehold, NJ/Freehold Twp.
CeCe Green	William Paterson	SR	G	Boonton, NJ/Boonton
Gabby Greene%	Rutgers-Camden	SR	G	Howell, NJ/Howell
Wykira Johnson-Kelly	Rutgers-Camden	FR	G	Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional
Alexis Kriley	Rowan	SO	G	Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn
Payce Lange	Kean	JR	G	Tewksbury, NJ/Voorhees