Women's Basketball Team and Players Among the National Leaders

March 22, 2012

Women's Basketball Team and Players Among the National Leaders

Albany, NY--- The Sage Colleges' women's basketball team and its members are amongst the NCAA's Division III statistical leaders with the release of the final rankings. The Gators finished nationally ranked in the Top 100 of the over 440 ranked programs in the final team categories in four separate categories.

Sage, which posted a 9-15 record on the season finished the year on a high-note with an impressive 54-40 win over CMSV in conference play. The team rewrote many of Sage's single-season records, while a number of performers also penned their names to career and single-season records as well after an impressive campaign in 2011-2012, all under the direction of veteran head coach, Jackie Craft.

The Gators finished the season ranked 21^st nationally in team free throw percentage (74.5%), which also broke the school single-season record in the process. The team also ranked 50^th in blocks per game with a 4.5 per game average after the players combined for another Sage best with 107 blocked shots. The Gators also ranked 88^th in team field goal percentage defense (33.9%), while checking at 95^th in three-point field goals per contest (5.5). Overall, the team also set new standards at Sage for three-pointers for a season as well after attempting 456 and ranked second with a combined 131 made three-pointers.

Headlining the players saluted for their outstanding play in 2011-2012 was junior guard Carly Vallee (East Greenbush, NY/Catholic Central), who finished the season ranked 32^nd nationally with her 2.57 three-point field goals per game average. She was also ranked 51^st in three-point field goal percentage (36.2%). In her three seasons at Sage, Vallee has already broken several Gator marks. She now holds Sage's single-season three-point record (59), also holds the career record at Sage with her 113 three's, a mark she will continue to add to next season.

Among the Gators also ranked in the final statistics that are among the top 100 performers for the season were senior guard Sarah Carciobolo (Niskayuna, NY/South Colonie) as she finished 77^th nationally with her 81.2 FT%. She also finished her career as the program's career free throw percentage leader as she was 80.8% (122-151), breaking the old mark of 76.4% held by Connie Kaidas (2003-2005). She hit 81.2% of her shots this season and her 2011-12 totals rank fourth all-time for a season at Sage.

Rookie forward Amie Jefferson (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) finished her record-setting season at Sage with a pair of records for most blocks in a game and a season. Jefferson ranks 50^th nationally in blocks per game with 2.17 effort after she recorded a school-record 52 blocks on the season. She also broke her own school record for most blocks in a game with 10 blocks, bettering her own record from earlier in the year with seven. The Gators combined for 13 blocked shots in a single-game, also bettering Sage's single-game record of 11, which had been done previously in 2003, twice.

Rounding the nationally recognized players for the Gators was rookie guard Megan Bowman (Saranac, NY/Saranac) averaged 4.2 assists per game and ranked 72^nd nationally. She led the team with 80 assists and 38 steals and was cited three times as the Skyline Rookie of the Week during the course of the season.