RICHMOND — The Coastal Athletic Association announced Tuesday afternoon the conference’s postseason awards for women’s basketball. William & Mary senior guard Bella Nascimento earned All-CAA Second Team honors, the first postseason all-league honors of her career.
Nascimento asserted herself as one of the best scorers in the CAA during her second season at William & Mary, averaging 15.9 points per game during the regular season, good for fifth best in the league.
The Grafton, Mass. native found a second gear when conference play rolled around, averaging a league best 17.8 points per game over the Tribe’s 18 CAA games. Her 10 games with 20-plus points during CAA play was also the most in the league. She scored in double figures in all but six games this season for W&M.
Nascimento hit 1,000 points for her collegiate career in January and enters the postseason with 809 of her career 1,190 points at William & Mary after spending the first two years of her career at Manhattan.
With six more made field goals Nascimento will move into second in W&M history for field goals in a single season at 187 and the most since 1979, passing Riley Casey and Alexandra Masaquel.
Lynn Norenberg, the only person on the women’s side with her jersey retired at W&M, holds the record at 227.
Prior to the year, Nascimento was named to the Preseason All-CAA Second Team.
Charleston’s Taylor Barbot earned Player of the Year honors as voted by the league’s 14 coaches. N.C. A&T’s Tarrell Robinson earned Coach of the Year for leading the Aggies to the regular season title.
The Tribe enters the Credit Union 1 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship as the No. 9 seed and will play No. 8 Hofstra in Thursday’s second round at noon at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C.
A pregame gathering for Tribe fans will be held on Wednesday night at the Blackfin Ameripub from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in D.C. Fans can also be a part of the team send off at the Hampton Inn at 1729 H Street N.W. at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
