March 2, 2016

Pair of Spartans Earn All-SSC Honors

Juliana Cavallaro earned first-team all-SSC honors for the second straight season.

MELBOURNE, Fla. - Nova Southeastern University, Sunshine State Conference Regular Season Champion, boasts seven All-SSC awards including the Defensive Player of the Year and Co-Coach of the Year. In all, 14 women's basketball student-athletes earn All-SSC recognition.

Senior Juliana Cavallaro has been named to the first team All-SSC team, while junior Elena de Alfredo earns a spot on the SSC All-Newcomer team.

Cavallaro led the Spartans with 14.3 points per game during her senior campaign. Cavallaro also ranked third on the team as she came down with 5.0 rebounds per game. Cavallaro is the school all-time leader in minutes played, and ranks fourth in three-pointers made.

In her first season with UT, deAlfredo ranked second on the team with 11.9 points per game and second on the team with 2.9 assists per game. deAlfredo had her best game in a Spartan uniform on December 20^th, as she scored 23 points against Fort Valley State.

Kayla Wright of Nova Southeastern takes Player of the Year. Wright led the Sharks to a 22-5 (13-3) record in 2015-16 and a tournament No. 1 seed. Wright becomes the third Shark named Player of the Year (Jasmine Wilkins, 2014-15; Stephanie Sarosi, 2007-08, 2008-09).

All-SSC History: SSC Players and Coaches of the Year | All-SSC Teams

SSC women's basketball coaches recognize Nova Southeastern's LeAnn Freeland and Florida Southern's Betsy Harris as Co-Coaches of the Year. Freeland repeats Coach of the Year after earning a second consecutive regular season championship. Harris guided Florida Southern to a 23-4 finish (12-4 SSC) in her second year as the Moccasins head coach.

Newcomer of the Year belongs to Saint Leo's Chelsey Springs. Camille Giardina from Florida Southern is awarded Freshman of the Year.

Kayla Wright (Nova Southeastern), Amra Elezovic (Barry), Mariah Harris (Florida Southern), Juliana Cavallaro (Tampa), and Monaye Merritt (Nova Southeastern) make up the All-SSC first team. Cavallaro repeats as a first teamer from last year.

Player of the Year - Kayla Wright, Nova Southeastern
Defensive Player of the Year - Monaye Merritt, Nova Southeastern
Newcomer of the Year - Chelsy Springs, Saint Leo
Freshman of the Year - Camille Giardina, Florida Southern
Coach of the Year - LeAnn Freeland, Nova Southeastern & Betsy Harris, Florida Southern

2016 ALL-SSC Women's Basketball Honors

First Team
Pos.
F
G/F
F
G
G

Second Team
Pos.
F
G
G
G
G

Newcomer Team
Pos.
F
G
C/F
G
G

Name
Kayla Wright
Amra Elezovic
Mariah Harris
Juliana Cavallaro*
Monaye Merritt~

Name
Chelsy Springs
Taylor Buie^
Shequana Harris~
Jensen Blassage
Ines Kerin

Name
Chelsy Springs
Elena De Alfredo
Ashley Folsom
Ida Krogh
Camille Giardina

School
Nova Southeastern
Barry
Florida Southern
Tampa
Nova Southeastern

School
Saint Leo
Nova Southeastern
Florida Tech
Florida Southern
Barry

School
Saint Leo
Tampa
Eckerd
Nova Southeastern
Florida Southern

Yr.
Jr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.

Yr.
Jr.
Jr.
Jr.
So.
Sr.

Yr.
Jr.
Jr.
Jr.
Sr.
Fr.

Hometown
Lauderdale, Fla.
Manchester, N.H.
Gainesville, Fla.
Venice, Fla.
Philadelphia, Pa.

Hometown
Orlando, Fla.
Puyallup, Wash.
Bronx, N.Y.
Cherry Valley, Ill.
Trbovlje, Slovenia

Hometown
Orlando, Fla.
Madrid, Spain
Deltona, Fla.
Aarhus, Denmark
Sarasota, Fla.

*=2014-15 First Team
~=2014-15 Newcomer Team
^=2013-14 Second Team