Rubino Named NEC Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year
3/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2003
FAIRFIELD, CT - Sacred Heart University freshman Nicolle Rubino (Port Jefferson Station, NY) was named the Northeast Conference 2002-03 Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year Friday. The awards were presented at the banquet on the eve of the NEC Women's Basketball Tournament, to be held in the William H. Pitt Center at Sacred Heart.
Rubino averaged 12.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game this season. A four-time Rookie of Week selection this season, she shot 76 percent from the free throw line and 35 percent from three-point range. She was second in the NEC in freshman scoring, and first in steals per game.
She was in double figures in scoring in 18 of 27 games this season, and finished the year with back-to-back career highs with 20 points against Long Island University and St. Francis of Brooklyn. She made a big splash in her collegiate opener against Massachusetts, scoring 15 points and draining four three-pointers.
"Winning this award is a great achievement for Nicolle and validates all her hard work this season," said SHU head coach Ed Swanson. "I hope this is a sign of what's to come from her in the next three years."
Pioneer senior forward Brooke Kelly (Medford, NJ) was named Second Team All-NEC today, after averaging 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds a game this season. This was the second straight year Kelly was selected by the NEC coaches.
She is third all-time in career scoring for the Pioneers with 1338 points, and fifth all-time with 679 rebounds. Her 394 career free throws is the second highest total ever by a Pioneer women's basketball player.
Rubino, Kelly, and the rest of the Pioneers will take on Long Island University in the first round of the Northeast Conference Tournament on Saturday at 2:30 pm. The winner of that game will play the winner of the game featuring top-seeded St. Francis (PA) and Mt. St. Mary's at 1:30 pm on Sunday.
