Penn State Altoona student-athlete Gabriel Lopez, of Wilmette, IL, was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference’s Player of the Week in men’s tennis on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
NORTH BOSTON, N.Y. — Penn State Altoona women’s basketball forward Avana Sayles, of Venetia, and guard/forward Jaidyn McCracken, of Bellwood, were both voted to the All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference team, as the league office announced its postseason awards in the sport on Tuesday, March 4.
Sayles was a first-team All-AMCC selection and was also voted the conference’s co-Defensive Player of the Year, splitting the recognition with Mount Aloysius College’s Molly Kosmack. McCracken was a third-team All-AMCC pick.
Sayles started all 27 games for the Lions this winter and made a big impact at both ends of the floor. Among all players in the AMCC, she ranks second in field goals made (176), defensive rebounds (167), and total rebounds (238), third in steals (68), blocks (41), and blocks per game (1.5), fourth in offensive rebounds (71), total rebounds per game (8.8), and points (405), fifth in steals per game (2.5) and points per 40 minutes (20.3), sixth in points per game (15.0), 12th in field goal percentage (39.9), 14th in free throws made (53), 37th in assists per game (1.4), and 38th in assists (38). Sayles was twice named the AMCC Player of the Week this season, picking up the award on Dec. 2 and 16.
McCracken had an all-around strong season for the Lions this year while starting all 27 games. In the AMCC, she is sixth in assists (68), eighth in three-pointers made (46), 11th in points (297) and assists per game (2.5), 12th in defensive rebounds (122), 13th in field goals made (113), 15th in total rebounds (151), 16th in points per game (11.0), 19th in rebounds per game (5.6), 20th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1), 21st in three-point field goal percentage (23.8), 22nd in field goal percentage (34.2), 25th in points per 40 minutes (14.4), 26th in steals (32), 33rd in steals per game (1.2), and 34th in offensive rebounds (29).
Penn State Altoona women’s basketball finished its season with a 13-14 overall record, including a 9-7 record within the AMCC that gave the Lions the fourth seed in the conference postseason tournament. In the AMCC Tournament, Penn State Altoona reached the semifinal round.
