America East names Cassidy league MVP> Vachon, McCormick honored

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A highlight video featuring America East’s best basketball players was played on a giant screen during Friday’s conference postseason awards luncheon at the Radisson Hotel.

University of Maine center Jamie Cassidy was shown frequently, though a few of the clips showed an opponent scoring against her. However, the junior’s improved defense and her dominance as a scorer and rebounder for the Black Bears helped Cassidy earn the nod as the 1999 America East Player of the Year.

The Black Bears dominated the voting process as coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie was selected the league’s Coach of the Year for the fourth time in five years. UMaine also placed point guard Amy Vachon and shooting guard Kristen McCormick on the All-America East second team.

Libby Smith of Vermont was named the Rookie of the Year in voting by the league’s 10 head coaches. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.

Joining Cassidy on the first team were 1998 Player of the Year Karalyn Church of Vermont, Tesha Tinsley and Betsy Palecek of Northeastern, and New Hampshire’s Orsi Farkas.

Cassidy, a 6-foot-4 junior from Methuen, Mass., joins Cindy Blodgett (1995 and ’96), Rachel Bouchard (1990 and ’91) and Liz Coffin (’88) as UMaine winners of the Player of the Year honor.

“It’s a great honor, something I’ve really worked hard for, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, particularly Amy Vachon,” Cassidy said. “I think she deserved a little more than what she got (second team). I’d trade this all in to win the championship and go to the NCAA Tournament.”

Cassidy led America East in scoring and ranks fifth in the nation at 23.7 points per game. She earned a first-team nod for the second year in a row. She shot 59 percent from the floor (3rd in the conference) and 80 percent from the foul line (2nd), while posting 9.0 rebounds (3rd). Cassidy’s 61 blocked shots also topped the league.

“I think this year Jamie’s really picked up her game on the defensive end and on rebounding,” Vachon said. “She’s really taken it on herself to make a statement of that, whereas she’s always been a great offensive player. I think that [combination] kind of set her apart from anyone else in the conference this year.”

Palombo guided UMaine to its fifth America East regular-season title in six years and its sixth consecutive campaign with at least 20 victories. Despite losing All-American Cindy Blodgett and two other starters off last season’s NCAA tourney entry, then directing the Bears through several injuries and a season-ending illness, Palombo’s Bears have again worked their way to the top of the conference.

“People didn’t expect us to do a lot at the beginning of the season,” Vachon said. “Coach really was able to mold a lot of the players who didn’t have a lot of experience and get them into the games and get a lot of experience. All of the coaches did a fabulous job this year.”

Tinsley was instrumental in sparking Northeastern to a 19-7 overall record and the No. 2 seed in the America East Tournament. The 5-6 guard, a first-teamer last season, ranked third in the league with 21.5 points per game and finished third in steals (2.7 per game), fourth in field-goal percentage (.538), fourth in assists (4.5) and ninth in free-throw percentage (.734).

Church carried Vermont through a challenging rebuilding season after it lost four of five starters last year. The 6-0 forward from Guelph, Ontario, overcame a hip condition to average 22.2 points (2nd in AE), 9.1 rebounds (2nd) and shoot 59 percent from the field (2nd).

Farkas emerged as the go-to player for a youthful New Hampshire squad that went 19-6 and claimed the No. 3 seed despite having no seniors and two freshman regulars among its top six players. The 6-2 junior center from Budapest, Hungary, averaged 17.5 points on league-best 59 percent shooting and also posted 2.1 steals per outing (9th).

Palecek is the second prong of the Huskies’ potent senior tandem. The 6-1 center from Indianapolis, Ind., contributed 16.7 points on 48 percent accuracy and chipped in with 1.0 blocked shots per contest.

Smith was an instant hit for the Catamounts, stepping in as a freshman to prove herself a competent ball distributor and a dangerous scorer. The 5-9 native of Essex Junction, Vt., averaged 10.1 points, finishing sixth in the league with a healthy 4.1 assists average.

Vachon was a second-team selection after quarterbacking the Bears to another oustanding regular season. Despite missing two games with a concussion, the 5-7 junior guard from Augusta has already broken her UMaine and America East single-season assists mark with 196 en route to the school career mark, which now stands at 512.

Vachon’s 8.2 assists ranks No. 1 in the league and third in the country, but she also contributed 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game.

McCormick claimed a spot on the second team with her 3-point shooting prowess. The 5-10 sniper from Medford, Mass., nailed a league-high 61 3-pointers and connected on an impressive 48 percent of her shots from behind the arc.

McCormick, who twice this season has tied Blodgett’s single-game mark with six 3-pointers, now needs nine 3-pointers to break Blodgett’s UMaine season mark of 69.