SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's basketball team announced its 2019-20 team awards this weekend through the team's social media channels, with four players earning honors for their play on the court and in the classroom.
Sophomore
Amber Raisner earned the team's Academic Excellence Award, while classmate
Laura Vinton was named the team's Most Improved Player. Seniors
Joana Santos and
Elly Vaughan shared the team's Most Valuable Player award.
Raisner led Union in grade points and actual points this season. In the classroom, the neuroscience major boasts a 3.90 cumulative GPA and was given Union's Freshman Scholar-Athlete of the Year award last year. On the court, she averaged 10.4 points per game and also led the team in assists (61) and three-point field-goal percentage (.367) while ranking second in steals (34) and blocks (16) and third in rebounds (114). Her best game of the season came against Skidmore College on February 7, when she scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting while grabbing eight boards and three steals.
"Amber is the model Union College community member," said associate head coach
Jared Zeidman. "She's everywhere on this campus, she has a number of co-curricular leadership positions, and her work ethic is exceptional. Her success as an athlete on our team mirrors the success she strives for everywhere on this campus."
Vinton was the only Dutchwoman to start all 24 games this season in her first year as a starter. She led the team with 153 rebounds (6.4 rpg) on the year and also ranked third with her 8.1 points per game, a dramatic increase from her 3.3 ppg and 2.5 rpg as a freshman. The forward showed her progression early in the year with a career-best 14 rebounds against St. Lawrence University on December 7, then went for a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in a win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on February 1.
"Being process oriented is easier said than done, and Laura is truly a process-oriented player," said Zeidman. "She works meticulously on the small details of her game in practice, and as soon as she's confident in the work she's done, she busts it out in a game. Her growth this season was a delight to watch, but I also genuinely believe she's not done growing."
Santos and Vaughan were the two on-court leaders for Union this season, ranking second and third on the team, respectively, in minutes played. Vaughan averaged 9.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game to go with a team-best 37 blocks, and provided the highlight of the year with her
buzzer-beating three-pointer to knock off Vassar on January 18. Santos continued her role was one of the top defenders in the Liberty League this season while also stepping up on the offensive end, netting a career-best 7.9 points per game and hauling in 77 rebounds to go with 28 assists.
"I couldn't help but smile when I saw that these two finished tied in the voting," added Zeidman. "Jo and Elly played the best basketball of their careers this year; but more importantly, they grew together as leaders this season. We talk extensively about modeling the way for your teammates on the court, and Jo and Elly did that for this team. Even though we won't have them in uniform anymore, their fingerprints will be all over this team for the next two seasons."
Despite the losses of Santos, Vaughan and
Hailey McCall, a strong core of returners and another promising incoming class will look to get Union back to the Liberty League Tournament after a one-year absence in 2020-21.
