Porcasi and O’Donnell Land on All-Skyline Women’s Basketball First Team
NEW YORK — Combining to score over 36 points a game as the top scoring duo in the Skyline Conference, St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) senior Victoria Porcasi (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) and sophomore Kelly O'Donnell (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) were both named to the All-Conference First Team, announced by the league office earlier today.
O'Donnell (18.5 ppg) tied for second in the conference in scoring average and Porcasi (17.7 ppg) finished fourth to become the first All-Skyline First Team selections in program history.
Accounting for nearly half the scoring production for an offense that was second in the league with 74.3 points a night, the duo helped the Bears assemble their best Skyline finish in fourth place and earning the first home playoff game ever played at The Hill Center. The Bears ended their season at 16-10 overall, their first winning season since 2014-15 and first since joining the Skyline.
Porcasi concluded her collegiate career with 1,647 points, which are the most in the Bears' NCAA era and third all-time in team history. The senior sniper also set program records in career three-pointers made (260) and three-point field goal percentage (35.4) also leading the Skyline this season in both categories, averaging 3.2 trifectas a night, currently ranked her 11th in Division III.
The senior co-captain also led the team in assists with a career-high 3.2 helpers an outing that ranked eighth in the league. She dropped 20-plus points nine times and scored in double-figures in 24 of the team's 26 games, highlighted by a season-high 33 in a tough, come-from-behind road victory at borough rivals Brooklyn College in December.
O'Donnell, last year's Skyline Rookie of the Year and a second-team honoree, turned in an even better sophomore campaign as one of six players in the league to average a double-double with 18.5 points and 10.7 rebounds. In addition to finishing tied for the league lead in points scored (482), the Marine Park native filled the box score nightly ranking in the top 10 in the Skyline in rebounds (10.7, #7), steals (2.1, #8), assists (3.0 #10), and blocks (1.2, #8) per game.
The versatile sophomore notched 12 games with 20-or-more points, compiling 14 double-doubles on the year, including the first triple-double in program history with 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in a win over Sarah Lawrence on December 6. Currently averaging 18.2 points through her first two seasons, she's on pace to become the fastest Bear to reach the 1,000-point scoring mark needing just 54 more points to reach the milestone.
The All-Conference teams and Player, Defensive Player, Rookie, and Coach of the Year are selected by the league's 10 head coaches.
Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams Announced
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2018-19 Skyline Conference Women's Basketball All-Conference Team
First Team
Kayla Cleare, Mount Saint Mary (Sr., C; W. Hempstead, N.Y.)
Kaleigh D'Arcy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Jr., G; White Plains, N.Y.)
Lauren Hunter, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Fr., F; Tinley Park, Ill.)
Amber Jones, Purchase (Sr., G; Bronx, N.Y.)
Kelly O'Donnell, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn (So., G; Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Victoria Porcasi, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn (Sr., G; Franklin Sq., N.Y.)
Second Team
Nicole Bick, Yeshiva (Sr., G; Edison, N.J.)
Monique Joseph, Old Westbury (Jr., F; Elmont, N.Y.)
Charlotte Renker, Old Westbury (Sr., C; Mineola, N.Y.)
Katie Smith, Mount Saint Mary (So., G; Goshen, N.Y.)
Davida Warren, Old Westbury (Jr., C; Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Player of the Year: Kayla Cleare, Mount Saint Mary
Defensive Player of the Year: Monique Joseph, Old Westbury
Rookie of the Year: Lauren Hunter, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Coach of the Year: Matt Dempsey, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Castleton St. '84; 11th season)