NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—George Mason’s Nicole Cardaño-Hillarywas named the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Player of the Year while VCU coach Beth O’Boyle was voted A-10 Coach of the Year. The league announced its annual awards Thursday in advance of the A-10 Championship heading to the A.J. Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne University for the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, which begin Friday.
Saint Louis’ Kerri McMahan was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman teammate Ciaja Harbisonreceived Rookie of the Year honors. Davidson’s Sarah Donovan was named the league’s Most Improved Player and teammate Justine Lyon was named the Sixth Woman of the Year.
The major awards, the All-Conference teams, the All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams were all nominated and voted by the league’s 14 head coaches. The women’s basketball sports information directors selected the All-Academic team.
Cardaño-Hillary, a sophomore from Madrid, Spain, led the A-10 in scoring at 20.4 points per game. She is the second consecutive George Mason player to be named Player of the Year following Natalie Butler, the 2018 award winner. Cardaño-Hillary was the 2018 A-10 Rookie of the Year.
O’Boyle, in her fifth season leading the Rams, led VCU to a 21-8 overall record and 13-3 in the Atlantic 10. VCU won a share of the regular season title and will be the top seed for the A-10 championship.
McMahan, a senior from Novi, Mich., helped anchor a Billiken defense that ranks third in the A-10 in field goal percentage defense (.372).
Harbison, a freshman from Louisville, Ky., was an 11-time A-10 Rookie of the Week honoree and finished tied for third in the league scoring at 14.9 points per game. She also averaged 3.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Donovan, a sophomore from London, Ontario, Canada, earned Most Improved honors this season after increasing her scoring average from 7.1 points per game to 13.0 points per game. She also increased her rebounding average from 5.4 to 9.0 per game, which ranks second in the league. She also led the A-10 in double-doubles with 11.
Lyon, a senior from Durham, N.C., averaged 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in only 25.0 minutes per game while coming off the bench for Davidson. She was previously the 2016-17 A-10 Most Improved Player.
The 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals begin Friday with games available on ESPN+. The semifinals begin Saturday at 11:00 am on CBS Sports Network and the championship final is Sunday at Noon on ESPNU. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting
http://www.goduquesne.com/2019A10Championship or calling 412-232-3853.
2018-19 ATLANTIC 10 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, George Mason
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kerri McMahan, Saint Louis
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Ciaja Harbison, Saint Louis
COACH OF THE YEAR
Beth O’Boyle, VCU
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sarah Donovan, Davidson
SIXTH WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Justine Lyon, Davidson
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Jayla Scaife, Dayton
Bre Cavanaugh, Fordham
Mary Goulding, Fordham
Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, George Mason
Tera Reed, VCU
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM*
Sarah Donovan, Davidson
Lauren Cannatelli, Dayton
Chassidy Omogrosso, Duquesne
Alyssa Monaghan, Saint Joseph’s
Jordyn Frantz, Saint Louis
Ciaja Harbison, Saint Louis
ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM*
Justine Lyon, Davidson
Katie Turner, Davidson
Kadri-Ann Lass, Duquesne
Mei-Lyn Bautista, George Washington
Danielle Hammond, VCU
Taya Robinson, VCU
ALL-ACADEMIC
Lauren Cannatelli, Dayton
Mary Goulding, Fordham
Sarah Kaminski, George Mason
Mckenna Maycock, St. Bonaventure
Kerri McMahan, Saint Louis
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Kadri-Ann Lass, Duquesne
Mei-Lyn Bautista, George Washington
Brooke Flowers, Saint Louis
Kerri McMahan, Saint Louis
Taya Robinson, VCU
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM*
Destiney Philoxy, Massachusetts
Deja Francis, St. Bonaventure
Katie Jekot, Saint Joseph’s
Brooke Flowers, Saint Louis
Ciaja Harbison, Saint Louis
Kseniya Malashka, VCU
*There was a tie for the last spot on the
All-Conference Second Team, Third Team and the All-Rookie Team