LANCASTER, Pa. - The Atlantic East Conference announced the Women’s Basketball weekly award winners on Monday, as Marymount’s Symantha Shackelford and Immaculata’s Tessa Liberatoscioli earned Player and Defensive Player of the week respectively.
Player of the Week:
Name: Symantha Shackelford
School: Marymount
Class: Sr.
Position: Guard
Hometown: Woodbridge, Va.
High School: Bishop Ireton
Brief Outlook of Week: Shackelford went off for 26 points in a solid 82-62 road win over Immaculata on Saturday afternoon. The fifth-year senior went 9-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Additionally, she grabbed four steals and four rebounds on the defensive end as Marymount forced 20 turnovers as a team. The Saints have now won five games in a row and sit at 7-0 in conference play.
Defensive Player of the Week:
Name: Tessa Liberatoscioli
School: Immaculata
Class: Senior
Position: Guard
Hometown: Malvern, Pa.
High School: Great Valley
Brief Outlook of Week: Liberatoscioli had 16 rebounds, including 13 defensive rebounds, along with nine steals, two blocked shots to go along with 26 points in two AEC games. She registered a double-double with 12 rebounds including 10 defensive rebounds, five steals, and one block to go along with 11 points to help Immaculata defeat Marywood on January 31st. She four rebounds including three defensive rebounds, one blocked shot, and four steals to go along with 15 points vs Marymount on February 3rd. With those four steals vs Marymount, Liberatoscioli broke the Immaculata program record steals in a single season that had been 79.
Weekly Honor Roll:
Emily DuPont (Jr., Guard, Neumann): DuPont scored 23 points in 70-61 win over Centenary in the lone game of the week for the Knights. The junior also grabbed five rebounds, a block, assists and steal.
Lynzie Eggers (Sr., Guard, Gwynedd Mercy): Eggers led the Griffins to their first Atlantic East victory over Centenary. The senior guard finished with a team-high 23 points on 6-of-17 (.353) shooting, a game-high four assists, and six rebounds.
Sydney Kesselman (Gr., Forward, Gwynedd Mercy): Kesselman had a game-high three blocks in the Griffins first conference win over Centenary. The graduate student tallied nine rebounds, seven of them defensive in the tight 66-64 victory over the Cyclones.
Brie Opdyke (Jr., Guard, Centenary): Opdyke had a big week for the Cyclones averaging 22.5 points per game with 6.5 rebounds. The junior added three assists in a tight loss to Gwynedd Mercy. She then picked up three steals and a block in the set back to Neumann.
Previous Weekly Award Winners:
Nov. 13, 2023 – Lauren Klieber, Neumann & Sydney Kesselman, Gwynedd Mercy
Nov. 20, 2023 – Symantha Shackelford, Marymount & Chandler Eddleton, Marymount
Nov. 27, 2023 – Lynzie Eggers, Gwynedd Mercy &. Tessa Liberatoscioli
Dec. 4, 2023 – Chandler Eddleton, Marymount & Vatijah Davis, Centenary
Dec. 11, 2023 – Lauren Klieber, Neumann & Abigail Lentowski, Immaculata
Dec. 18, 2023 –Abigail Lentowski, Immaculata & Tessa Liberatoscioli, Immaculata
Jan. 2, 2024 - Chandler Eddleton, Marymount & Tessa Liberatoscioli, Immaculata
Jan. 8, 2024 – Vatijah Davis, Centenary & Tessa Liberatoscioli, Immaculata
Jan. 16, 2024 – Chandler Eddleton, Marymount & Tessa Liberatoscioli, Immaculata
Jan 22, 2024 - Lynzie Eggers, Gwynedd Mercy & Tessa Liberatoscioli, Immaculata
Jan 29, 2024 – Emily DuPont, Neumann & Chandler Eddleton, Marmount