NEW YORK (April 19, 2023) – Sarah Ericson of St. Thomas Aquinas College and Briana Lee of Felician University have been selected All-Met Division II women’s college basketball Co-Players of the Year for 2022-23 as announced Wednesday by the Met Basketball Writers Association.
Bill Cleary of St. Thomas Aquinas was named Coach of the Year.
The rest of the All-Met First Team: Ty’Zhea Hawkins, Adelphi; Erin Leary, St. Thomas Aquinas; Tanasha Mills, Dominican; Casey O’Shaughnessy, Caldwell; Katie Wall, Mercy.
The All-Met Second Team: Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island; Taysha Bender, Mercy; Brianna Davis, Queens; Lauren Hackett, Pace; Alexis Suarez, Dominican.
The 2022-23 All-Met teams will be honored at the 90th MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner on Thursday, April 27, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY. The Haggerty dinner is the longest running, media-managed college basketball awards program in the United States.
A 5-7 sophomore guard from Norwich, CT, Ericson --- who also was selected the East Coast Conference player of the year --- led the Spartans (21-9, 12-4) to an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Additionally named to the All-ECC First Team and the D2CCA All-Region First Team, Ericson ranked second in the conference in rebounds per game (9.7, tops on the team), fourth in 3-point shooting percentage (36.7%), and fifth in both scoring (12.5) and steals (1.9) per game. She shot 40.4% from the floor overall and 82.5% at the free throw line.
An All-Met Second Team pick in 2022, when she also was honored as the ECC rookie of the year, in two seasons at STAC Ericson has posted 665 points, 465 rebounds, 197 assists and 83 steals.
A 5-8 junior guard/forward from Jersey City, NJ, Lee --- who also was named to the MBWA All- Met First Team in both 2021 and 2022--- led the Golden Falcons (11-15, 8-10) with 19.0 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. The rebounding average placed her sixth-best in the nation in Division II.
Racking up a career-high 438 points during the season, Lee shot 46.0% from the field, 33.7% from beyond the arc and 81.9% at the free throw line.
Additionally gathering accolades as both an All-CACC and D2CCA All-Region First Team selection, Lee now has 1,397 collegiate career points while hauling in a school-record 882 career rebounds.
In just his second year overseeing the women’s basketball team at STAC --- in addition to serving as assistant athletic director --- Cleary guided the Spartans from a 14-15 overall record in 2021-22 to a 21-9 finish this past season. St. Thomas Aquinas, which was 12-4 in the ECC, advanced to the Conference Tournament final and subsequently earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans offense was ranked third in the ECC with 66.1 points per game and second in defense, allowing just 58.0 points per game.
Prior to joining STAC, Cleary was head coach at Colgate, Bloomsburg and Wilmington. A native of Broomall, PA, he earned a Bachelors degree from Villanova in 1988 and a Masters from Georgia State in 2002. He and his wife, Jackie, reside in Orangeburg, NY, and are the parents of sons Billy and Chase.
For a list of previous Women's Division II Awards:
Players of the Year - Coaches of the Year
SUMMARY
NEW YORK (April 19, 2023) – The 2022-23 All-Met Division II women’s college basketball team announced Monday by the Met Basketball Writers Association.
FIRST TEAM
Sarah Ericson, St. Thomas Aquinas • 5-7, So., G, Norwich, CT
Ty’Zhea Hawkins, Adelphi • 5-4, Gr., G, Brentwood, NY
Erin Leary, St. Thomas Aquinas • 6-0, So., F, Carle Place, NY
Briana Lee, Felician • 5-9, Jr., G/F, Jersey City, NJ
Tanasha Mills, Dominican • 5-5, So., G, New City, NY
Casey O’Shaughnessy, Caldwell • 5-8, Sr., G, Brooklyn, NY
Katie Wall, Mercy • 5-6, Sr., G, Wappingers Falls, NY
SECOND TEAM 
Jenalyse Alarcon, Staten Island • 5-9, So., F, Troy, NY
Taysha Bender, Mercy • 5-7, Gr., G, Glen Burnie, MD
Brianna Davis, Queens • 5-8, Fr., G, Bronx, NY
Lauren Hackett, Pace • 5-5, Gr., G, Commack, NY
Alexis Suarez, Dominican • 5-6, Jr., G, Poughquag, NY
Co-Player of the Year: Sarah Ericson, St. Thomas Aquinas •
Ericson Highlight Video
Co-Player of the Year: Briana Lee, Felician •
Lee Highlight Video (will be posted at a later date).
Coach of the Year: Bill Cleary, St. Thomas Aquinas
--- www.metbasketballwriters.org ---