2017-18 Northeast Conference Preview
| Player | Team | PER | BPM | VORP | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A’Lexus “Ace” Harrison, Sr | Saint Francis (PA) | 22.47 | 8.53 | 5.51 | 762 |
| Megan Smith, Sr | Robert Morris | 19.00 | 6.69 | 5.75 | 877 |
| Mikalah Mulrain, Sr | Robert Morris | 12.30 | 5.05 | 3.83 | 698 |
| Jessica Kovatch, Jr | Saint Francis (PA) | 22.15 | 3.68 | 4.39 | 986 |
| Naomi Ashley, Sr | Bryant | 8.19 | 3.84 | 4.09 | 899 |
| Katherine Haines, Jr | Sacred Heart | 18.66 | 2.64 | 3.25 | 934 |
| Alex Delaney, Sr | St. Francis Brooklyn | 14.60 | 2.44 | 3.15 | 973 |
| Maria Palarino, Jr | St. Francis Brooklyn | 12.27 | 2.36 | 3.02 | 948 |
| Madelynn Comly, Jr | Fairleigh Dickinson | 12.51 | 2.27 | 2.76 | 915 |
| Amina Markovic, Sr | Fairleigh Dickinson | 11.51 | 2.17 | 1.94 | 684 |
Ace Harrison and Megan Smith are pretty clearly the best of the bunch in the Northeast, and should be playing professionally next year if they want to. I expect them both to be going for the league’s MVP. Harrison is a 6’2” forward who is in her last year as a grad student. She transferred in from Maryland before the 2016-17 season. Harrison was an efficient scorer and good defensive rebounder who also has shown great passing skills for her possession and a huge impact on defense. She has some three point range as well.
Smith is a great 6’1” scoring forward. The Canadian is a very efficient scorer who shoots some from 3 (46.5% on 71 tries), who should probably shoot more from there. Solid rebounder who also gets blocks and steals and a good number of assists for a forward.
Mikalah Mulrain is a 6’3” center who’s also from Ontario. More of a defensive player than an offensive star, she’s an efficient interior scorer who can get to the free throw line. She’d be even better if she shot better than 57.5% from there. Gets a lot of blocks. Not quite the dominant rebounder you would expect given the rest of her skill set. Decent passer.
Jessica Kovatch is a very solid number two in this year’s one-two punch for the Saint Francis squad; she’ll be carrying the offensive load. The 5’9” guard took 319 three pointers, making 34.5% of them. Decent vision, though she could stand to avoid more turnovers. Not much of a rebounder. She does get a solid number of steals. When she plays without Harrison next season, she’ll need to develop more all-around skills, because it’ll be hard to find a replacement for Ace.
Naomi Ashley breaks up the RMU/SFU dominance. A 5’8” guard, the Ontario native (what’s with the NEC and good Ontarians?) is not a valuable scorer. Her value comes from her ability to get steals, her rebounding numbers being higher than expected, and a good ability to get to the free throw line. She also gets some assists, though hopefully she cuts down on her turnovers.
Katherine Haines is a 6’2” forward redshirt junior. An efficient scorer who gets some free throw tries out of it, she completely lacks three point range. She’s also not much of a passer. Then why is she here? Defense – a 4.77 block percentage – and a strong rebounder are the hallmarks of her game. If she can turn the ball over less, up her prowess at scoring around the hoop, and get more steals, she’ll be a conference MVP candidate next year.
Alex Delaney is a 6’0” forward for St. Francis Brooklyn. The Aussie was decently efficient at scoring last year, but wasn’t any great shakes. She can stretch the floor, going 53-157 from 3. A strong defensive rebounder that can get some steals and a rare block, she really excels in ball movement – she avoids turnovers and gets a lot of assists for a forward.
5’10” guard Maria Palarino is SFC’s other inclusion on this list. A notably more efficient scorer than Delaney, she shoots a bit from 3, making 32.1% of them. She had a good assist % (19.2), but had a sub-1 A:TO ratio. She also was a solid defensive rebounder. Her defensive impact was otherwise minimal.
Madelynn Comly is a 5’9” guard for Fairleigh Dickinson. Okay at scoring, she does a little bit of everything – okay at rebounding for a guard, can get some assists, and a strong free throw shooter (even if it’d be preferable if she got to the line more often). She also does okay at getting steals. Needs to cut down on turnovers.
Amina Markovic is the other Knight that will close out this list. Like Comly, the 6’1” forward Markovic is okay at scoring efficiency – not great, but decent. She’s a fantastic rebounder on both ends of the court. She also gets a good number of blocks and steals. She gets an above average number of assists, though that’s accompanied by more turnovers than is desirable.
A’Lexus “Ace” Harrison, Sr, Saint Francis (PA), 22.47 PER, 8.53 BPM, 5.51 VORP, 762 MP
Megan Smith, Sr, Robert Morris, 19.00 PER, 6.69 BPM, 5.75 VORP, 877 MP
Mikalah Mulrain, Sr, Robert Morris, 12.30 PER, 5.05 BPM, 3.83 VORP, 698 MP
Jessiva Kovatch, Jr, Saint Francis (PA), 22.15 PER, 3.68 BPM, 4.39 VORP, 986 MP
Naomi Ashley, Sr, Bryant, 8.19 PER, 3.84 BPM, 4.09 VORP, 899 MP
Katherine Haines, Jr, Sacred Heart, 18.66 PER, 2.64 BPM, 3.25 VORP, 934 MP
Alex Delaney, Sr, St. Francis Brooklyn, 14.60 PER, 2.44 BPM, 3.15 VORP, 973 MP
Maria Palarino, Jr, St. Francis Brooklyn, 12.27 PER, 2.36 BPM, 3.02 VORP, 948 MP
Madelynn Comly, Jr, Fairleigh Dickinson, 12.51 PER, 2.27 BPM, 2.76 VORP, 915 MP
Amina Markovic, Sr, Fairleigh Dickinson, 11.51 PER, 2.17 BPM, 1.94 VORP, 684 MP
Other teams’ best players:
Mount St. Mary’s: Caroline Hummell, Sr.
Central Connecticut State: Andi Lydon, Jr.
LIU Brooklyn: Seneca Richards, So. Of the 12 players who played minutes last year for LIU Brooklyn, only 5 return per their current online roster. Three freshman who played heavy minutes – Victoria Powell, Aja Boyd, and Gabrielle Caponegro are gone.
Wagner: Tanasia Russell, Sr. They had 9 players log minutes last year; their current online roster only has 3 returning. Only 1085 of 5825 possible minutes return.
Projected standings
- Saint Francis (PA) (last year’s conference record: 13-5)
- Fairleigh Dickinson (6-12)
- Robert Morris (14-4)
- St. Francis Brooklyn (6-12)
- Bryant (11-7)
- Mount St. Mary’s (10-8)
- Central Connecticut State (9-9) – this team is hurt by the transfer of talented frosh Cebria Outlaw to Tennessee State. Outlaw would have been among the top 10 to 15 returning players in the league.
- Sacred Heart (13-5)
- LIU Brooklyn (5-13)
- Wagner (3-15)