University of Maine sophomore forward Caroline Dotsey, who played just 78 minutes as a freshman a year ago, has been named America East’s Sixth Player of the Year.
Black Bear graduate student center Caroline Bornemann was selected to the America East first team and to the All-Academic team. Senior guard Paula Gallego was chosen for the third team.
It was the first all-league recognition for Dotsey and Bornemann. Gallego was chosen to the All-Rookie team her freshman season.
Dotsey came off the bench and has averaged 10.1 points per game this season, which is 11th in the league, while averaging 17.9 minutes of playing time per contest. She was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Bornemann.
Dotsey shot 42.9 percent from the floor and 37 percent beyond the 3-point arc. She also averaged 2.9 rebounds per game.
“She has really taken advantage of the minutes she gets,” UMaine head coach Amy Vachon said about the sophomore forward.
Vachon said Dotsey “can obviously score the ball” but also does “a lot of different things for us as well.”
Dotsey scored in double figures in 14 of UMaine’s 29 games including seven with 17 or more points.
Bornemann, who was moved to center from the wing at the outset of the season to replace the injured Adrianna Smith (knee surgery), led the team in scoring (12.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.9) and was fifth in the conference in scoring and second in rebounding.
Bornemann was sixth in field goal percentage (44.2) and 12th in assists (2.4) and nobody in the conference averaged more minutes of playing time (33.4).
She had 17 double-digit games and seven double-doubles.
She had a 3.95 grade-point average as an undergraduate and has a 4.00 in grad school.
“She had a great year. Her stats were evident,” Vachon said about Bornemann.
Gallego was second in the league in assists with 3.6 per game and also averaged 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds. She had five games with six or more assists.
She scored in double figures 10 times.
“Paula does all the little things. I’m glad she was recognized because a lot of times they go unnoticed. She makes the right decisions, she’s a really good scorer. She had done a lot of good things for us as well,” said Vachon.
Albany graduate student guard Kayla Cooper was the Player of the Year and her coach, Colleen Mullen, was the Coach of the Year; Vermont senior guard Bella Vito was the Defensive Player of the Year; NJIT guard Olivia Kulyk was the Rookie of the Year and UNH sophomore guard Eva DeChent was the Newcomer of the Year.
