Monday, March 30, 2009
BRYANT'S MARY BURKE AND KELSEY O'KEEFE NAMED DIVISION I COACH OF THE YEAR AND CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR BY RHODE ISLAND MEDIA
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Bryant University women's basketball head coach Mary Burke and junior co-captain Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) were named Division I Coach of the Year and Co-Player of the Year, respectively, by Rhode Island media, announced Monday afternoon at the final Cox Media Luncheon of the 2008-09 season.
It is Burke's second-consecutive Coach of the Year honor, having earned the Division II/III award in 2007-08 after guiding the Bulldogs to the NCAAs and a 20-12 record in their final season of Division II play. This season, in the program's first season of Division I action, Burke led her squad to an 11-18 overall record, earning the most wins of an DI Rhode Island women's basketball team in 2008-09.
With just two seniors on the roster, Burke and her Bulldogs compiled six wins over five future Northeast Conference members, posting a 6-2 home record against Division I opponents from six different conferences.
O'Keefe, a general on the court in her three seasons with the Bulldogs, earns Co-Player of the Year honors after leading Bryant on the floor, averaging a team-best 16.3 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per outing in the program's inaugural Division I campaign.
A dominant power in the Northeast Conference in her first year of Division I play, the 6-foot-1 junior forward paced the Bulldogs in points per game for her third-consecutive season, also contributing the top four single-game performances of the year. The forward's numbers would have ranked sixth in the Northeast Conference in scoring.
O'Keefe fell just one point shy of tying her career-high with a 32-point showing against Central Connecticut State University on Feb. 14 and presented back-to-back 26-point outings against the Ivy League's Yale and Brown on Jan. 10 and 13. She also chipped in 25 against Robert Morris to open the month of February.
The 19th 1,000-point scorer in program history, O'Keefe scored her 1,000th point with her first basket in a Dec. 1 home win over St. Francis (N.Y.). Her 1,391 career points rank her No. 5 all-time, just seven behind fourth-ranked Ali Curry (1,398) and 19 behind No. 3 Stephanie Ladd (1,410) with a season of eligibility remaining.
O'Keefe was also the best three‑point shooter on the team, hitting 50-of-137 on the year while shooting 36.5 percent from the behind the arc. Registering double figures in 26 of the team's 29 games, O'Keefe had a team-best nine double‑doubles, including four in a row mid-season. The Warren, Mass. native scored 20‑plus points seven different times and was regarded as one of the top players in the conference by opposing coaches based on her ability to score both outside and inside all season long. She shot 43.8 percent from the floor on the year.
But that wasn't her only contribution. O'Keefe also pulled down a squad-high 7.8 boards per game, proving her rebounding prowess was just as effective at the NCAA's top level. Her 670 career boards place her fourth on Bryant's all-time list.
O'Keefe led Bryant (11-18) in points 20 times, pacing the Bulldogs on the glass on 17 occasions. She registered team-best assist numbers in nine outings, steals in 10 and blocks in seven. O'Keefe also led the team in made field goals (171; 5.9/game), made 3-point field goals (50), free throw percentage (80-of-103; .777) and minutes played (31.2/game).
