Courtney Parvin Named NEWMAC Player of the Year; Naomi Graves Tabbed Coach of the Year
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., February 28, 2006 – Springfield College’s Courtney Parvin and Head Coach Naomi Graves went home with two of the more prestigious pieces of hardware following today’s end-of-season New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women’s basketball meeting in Worcester, Mass.
Parvin, a senior forward from Brackney, Pennsylvania and Montrose Area HS, was named the 2006 NEWMAC Player of the Year, while Graves was named the 2006 NEWMAC Coach of the Year.
In addition, Parvin was named First-Team All-NEWMAC, while sophomore guard Christine Cotter (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton HS) was named Second-Team All-NEWMAC.
The Springfield College women’s basketball team (22-6) has been the subject of much good news lately. On Sunday, SC defeated Mount Holyoke to capture its fifth NEWMAC Women’s Basketball title in the past six years. Then yesterday, the team learned that it would travel to Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, to play a first-round NCAA Division III Tournament game on Friday (Mar. 3) at 7:30 p.m. versus the host school, Messiah (25-2).
For Parvin, who hails from Brackney, Pennsylvania, “it’s just a trip down Route 81” to Grantham, which is “just the other side of Harrisburg”.
Parvin has now been named First-Team All-NEWMAC two-straight seasons. But it is the first time she has been named NEWMAC Player of the Year.
It is the third time that a Springfield College player has earned NEWMAC Player of the Year honors. The other two came consecutively. They were forward Kelly Thompson in 2001 and guard Becky Kanupka in 2002.
It is also the third time that Graves has been named NEWMAC Coach of the Year, doing so previously in 2001 and 2002.
Parvin has averaged 15.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game thus far this season. She is shooting .461 from three-point range and .740 from the free throw line. She has started all 27 games she has appeared in, and leads the team in minutes played (971). She is also averaging 2.6 assists from her “4” position.
Earlier this season against MIT, Courtney became just the 10th player in SC history to score 1,000 points in her career. She has now scored 1,183 points, which ranks her fifth in SC annals.
Cotter has been a pleasant surprise for this Springfield team. The sophomore has been battling a shoulder injury the entire season, often not practicing in between games. But she continues to persevere. Cotter is averaging 11.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 steals. She has started 19 of the 26 games she has played in.
Entering this weekend, Graves owns an overall coaching record of 291-250 (.538) in this her 21st season (six at WPI, and 15 at Springfield). Her record at Springfield alone is 233-167 (.583).
2006 NEWMAC Women’s Basketball All-Conference Teams:
Coach of the Year: Naomi Graves, Springfield College
Player of the Year: Courtney Parvin, Springfield College
Rookie of the Year: Krystin Hickey, Wheaton College
First Team
Jonee Billy, Mount Holyoke
Andrea Comen, Clark
Natalie Moyer, Coast Guard
Courtney Parvin, Springfield
Suzy Ward, Babson
Second Team
Ashley Auclair, Clark
Christine Cotter, Springfield
Krystin Hickey, Wheaton
Meghan Pajonas, WPI
Joeanna Silvey, Mount Holyoke
Team Links
- 2009-2010 Schedule
- 2009-2010 Roster
- 2009-2010 Statistics
- 2009-2010 JV Schedule
- Photo Gallery
- Live Stats
- Alumni Questionnaire
- NEWMACsports.com
- D3hoops.com
- Team Archives
Head Coach Naomi Graves
Entering her 19th season as head coach in 2009-10, Naomi Graves has directed her squads to an impressive 266-117 record (.695 winning percentage) since joining the Division III ranks in 1995. Graves has led the Pride to eleven post-season bids in the past 14 years, including five berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament in the past nine years.
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