ANNVILLE, Pa. – Senior Alysha Lofton was named MAC Commonwealth player of the year, and four Albright women’s basketball players were selected to the All-MAC Commonwealth Women’s Basketball team, announced by the conference on Friday morning.
In addition to being named player of the year, Lofton was one of two Lions to earn first-team honors along with classmate Jane Joyce. Devan Horka was named to the All-MAC Commonwealth second-team, while Nina Mazzarelli earned All-MAC Commonwealth honorable mention.
Lofton became the first Albright player to be named MAC Commonwealth Women’s Basketball Player of the Year since Kelecia Harris was named it for the 2014-15 season, while earning first team honors for the second straight season. She heavily filled up the stat sheet this season by ranking in the top 10 in the conference for most of the major statistical categories. Lofton led the MAC Commonwealth in steals at 2.7, ranked fourth in scoring at 14.0 PPG, fifth in assists at 4.0, and is seventh in rebounding with 7.8 RPG. She was also fourth in blocks averaging 1.7 per game, and became the first Lions women’s basketball player in program history to complete a triple-double against Stevenson on January 27th.
Joyce earned first-team honors for the first time in her Albright career, and third conference postseason accolade overall after previously earning second team and honorable mention. She made her mark in assists as she ranked third in the MAC Commonwealth with 4.1 assists, while becoming the Lions all-time career assists leader on senior day against Lycoming. Joyce also ranked second in the conference with 2.5 steals per game, and was third on the team in with a career-best 6.2 rebounds per game.
Horka garnered MAC Commonwealth postseason honors for the first time in her collegiate career after setting new career highs in points per game and rebounds per game. She ranked eighth in the conference with 12.8 points per game, and in rebound per game with 7.5. Horka also ranked third in the conference in field goal percentage at 48.4 percent, and has tallied four double-doubles this season. She also holds the highest individual scoring game by any Lion this season after she posted 25 points in an overtime win against Ursinus back in November.
Mazzarelli was the only player on the honorable mention team this season as she earned MAC Commonwealth postseason accolades for the second straight season after tallying second team honors a year ago. She leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 14.3 points per game, and averaged 2.0 three-point field goals made per game to lead the MAC Commonwealth. Mazzarelli eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for her collegiate career against Ursinus back in November, and currently has compiled 1,344 career points.
2017-18 All-MAC Commonwealth Women’s Basketball Team
Player of the Year: Alysha Lofton (Sr.), Albright
Rookie of the Year: Emily Mealey (Fr.), Lebanon Valley
Coach of the Year: Mike Miller, Messiah
FIRST TEAM
Name
School
Year
Position
Kaitlyn Hoff
Messiah
Senior
Guard
Albright
Senior
Guard
Albright
Senior
Guard/Forward
Shelby Mueller
Lycoming
Senior
Forward
Alecia Rohrer
Messiah
Junior
Forward
SECOND TEAM
Name
School
Year
Position
Jonyae Curry
Stevenson
Junior
Guard
Albright
Senior
Forward/Center
Madison Ireland
Widener
Sophomore
Guard
Leah Springer
Messiah
Sophomore
Forward
Maci Thornton
Messiah
Junior
Guard
HONORABLE MENTION
Name
School
Year
Position
Albright
Senior
Guard
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