BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Holy Cross senior guard Avery LaBarbera headlined the 2021-22 Patriot League Penfed Credit Union Women’s Basketball postseason awards as the player of the year when the League announced honors on Friday morning.

Navy senior guard Jennifer Coleman earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year after leading the League in steals (2.8) and finishing second in rebounds (10.8).

Loyola Maryland freshman forward Lex Therien claimed Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors after recording 14 double-doubles, while averaging 12.6 points and 10.9 rebounds during her first season in Baltimore.

Holy Cross head coach Maureen Magairty was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading the Crusaders to their first Patriot League regular-season title in 17 years.

The Patriot League major awards and all-League teams are presented by PenFed Credit Union. They were voted on by Patriot League women’s basketball head coaches, who could not vote for their student-athletes or themselves.
 
2021-22 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Player of the Year
Avery LaBarbera, Holy Cross, Sr., G, Harrison, N.Y./Harrison
* LaBarbera finished the regular season averaging 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds after starting all 29 games for the Crusaders.
* The senior’s 16.2 points tied for second in the League. Her 9.8 rebounds per game ranked third in the Patriot League.
* LaBarbera ranks tied for 13th in NCAA DI with 17 double-doubles during her senior campaign. She scored in double-figures in nine straight games to finish the regular season.
* In her career, LaBarbera has scored 1,441 points to go with 639 rebounds, 360 assists and 162 steals.
 
2021-22 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year
Jennifer Coleman, Navy, Sr., G, Richmond, Va./Highland Springs
* Coleman finished the regular season averaging 10.8 rebounds, the second-best mark in the Patriot League.
* Coleman leads the League and finished 15th in NCAA DI in steals per game (2.8). She also led the League in total assists (136) and minutes per game (37.8). 
* The three-time Patriot League Player of the Week, ranked 10th in the nation while leading the League with 21.6 points per game.
* In January, Coleman was named to the 2022 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List.
* In her career at Navy, Coleman has recorded 1,285 points, 696 rebounds, 300 assists and 177 steals.

2021-22 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year
Lex Therien, Loyola Maryland, Fr., F, Marlton, N.J./Cherokee
* Therien led the Patriot League and finished 18th in the nation in rebounding (10.9) in addition to leading the Greyhounds and ranking eighth in the League in scoring (12.6).  
* Therien also led the Greyhounds in steals (41) and blocks (8).
* She finished the regular season with 14 double-doubles, while scoring in double-figures 20 times.
* The freshman earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week six times this season.

2021-22 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year
Maureen Magarity, Holy Cross
* In her second year at Holy Cross, Magarity led the Crusaders to the No. 1 seed in the 2021-22 Patriot League PenFed Credit Union Women’s Basketball Championship.
* Holy Cross recorded its first 20-victory season since 2013-14 and set the program record for League wins (14).
* The Crusaders held opponents to a League-low .369 field-goal percentage, while ranking second in scoring defense (56.0) and fifth in scoring offense (60.5).

2021-22 All-Patriot League Teams
American and Boston University both placed a trio of student-athletes on the three All-Patriot League squads, while Army West Point, Bucknell and Lehigh had two selections each. Holy Cross, Lafayette, Loyola Maryland and Navy rounded out the teams with one honoree apiece.
 
Six of the 16 student-athletes voted onto the three All-Patriot League teams are multi-year honorees. Holy Cross senior guard Avery LaBarbera received All-League accolades for the fourth time. American senior guard Jade Edwards (12.8 ppg, .828 FT), Army senior guard Alisa Fallon (6.4 rpg) and Navy senior guard Jennifer Coleman are three-time honorees.
 
BU junior forward Maren Durant (7.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg) and junior guard Sydney Johnson (16.0 ppg, .429 FG) and Bucknell senior Taylor O’Brien (16.2 ppg) are all two-time honorees.

LaBarbera and Coleman are joined on the All-Patriot League First Team by preseason player of the year American senior guard Jade Edwards, Boston U’s Johnson and Bucknell’s O’Brien.

The second-team recipients include Fallon, Bucknell guard Cecelia Collins (11.2 ppg), Lehigh senior forward Emma Grothaus (12.6 ppg, .450 FG) and sophomore guard Mackenzie Kramer (16.2 ppg, .459 FG), and rookie of the year Lex Therien of Loyola Maryland.

Due to a tie in voting six student-athletes were placed on the All-League Third Team. American senior forward Taylor Brown (10.3 ppg) and senior guard Emily Fisher (8.2 ppg, 4.3 apg), Army junior forward Sabria Hunter, BU’s Durant and sophomore forward Caitlin Weimar (10.0 ppg, 8.6 rpg), and Lafayette junior guard Jessica Booth (11.1 ppg).

The six-member All-Defensive Team is highlighted by Coleman, the League’s defensive player of the year. She is joined by Durant (1.7 bpg), American’s Fisher (3.6 rpg, 1.0 spg), Bucknell senior guard Marly Walls (4.2 rpg, 1.7 spg), Holy Cross senior guard Addisyn Cross (1.3 spg) and Lafayette senior forward Naomi Ganpo (8.0 rpg, 2.3 bpg).

Therien and Collins were joined by BU guard Alex Giannaros (10.2 ppg), Colgate guard Taylor Golembiewski (10.1 ppg) and Lafayette guard Abby Antognoli (8.7 ppg) on the all-rookie team.
 
2021-22 Women’s Basketball All-Patriot League Teams and Major Awards
Player of the Year: Avery LaBarbera, Holy Cross, Sr., G
Defensive Player of the Year: Jennifer Coleman, Navy, Sr., G
Rookie of the Year: Lex Therien, Loyola Maryland, Fr., F
Coach of the Year: Maureen Magarity, Holy Cross
 
First-Team All-Patriot League
Jade Edwards, American, Sr., G
Sydney Johnson, Boston University, Jr., G
Taylor O’Brien, Bucknell, Sr., G
Avery LaBarbera, Holy Cross, Sr., G
Jennifer Coleman, Navy, Sr., G
 
Second-Team All-Patriot League
Alisa Fallon, Army West Point, Sr., G
Cecelia Collins, Bucknell, Fr., G
Emma Grothaus, Lehigh, Sr., F
Mackenzie Kramer, Lehigh, So., G
Lex Therien, Loyola Maryland, Fr., F

Third-Team All-Patriot League*
Taylor Brown, American, Sr., F
Emily Fisher, American, Sr., G
Sabria Hunter, Army West Point, Jr., F
Maren Durant, Boston University, Jr., F
Caitlin Weimar, Boston University, So., F
Jessica Booth, Lafayette, Jr., G

Patriot League All-Defensive Team^
Emily Fisher, American, Sr., G
Maren Durant, Boston University, Jr., F
Marly Walls, Bucknell, Sr., G
Addisyn Cross, Holy Cross, Jr., G
Naomi Ganpo, Lafayette, Sr., F
Jennifer Coleman, Navy, Sr., G
 
Patriot League All-Rookie Team
Alex Giannaros, Boston University, Fr., G
Cecelia Collins, Bucknell, Fr., G
Taylor Golembiewski, Colgate, Fr., G
Abby Antognoli, Lafayette, Fr., G
Lex Therien, Loyola Maryland, Fr., F
 
* Due to a tie in voting, there are six members on the third team.
^ Due to a tie in voting, there are six members on the all-defensive team.
 
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.