March 6, 2008

Bay City, Mich. - Mercyhurst College women's basketball player Amy Achesinski was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Freshman of the Year today as voted on by the conference coaches. Achesinski was also named GLIAC South Division All-Conference Second Team.

Achesinski made an immediate impact as a freshman for the Mercyhurst women's basketball team, averaging 16.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. She shot 58 percent from the field, which ranks eighth in the country and is the only freshman among the top 60 in the nation. She is also the third leading scorer among freshmen in Division II.

In her first game with the Lakers, Achesinski tallied 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. She went on to post six more double-doubles throughout the season and led the squad to a 3-1 record against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponents, the conference Mercyhurst will move to in 2008-09.

In a game against Wayne State on Jan. 26, Achesinski scored a career-high 38 points, the most for a Mercyhurst player in more than 15 years. She was 13-of-16 shooting in that contest and 12-of-15 from the free-throw line, while adding eight rebounds and two assists.

In other voting, Hillsdale's Katie Cezat was named the GLIAC Player of the Year and Northwood's Jeff Curtis was named Coach of the Year. Cezat was joined on the South Division All-Conference first team by teammate Julie Slot, Gannon's Kristina Freeman and Kim Vargas, and Wayne State's Jasmine McCall. Achesinski was joined on the second team by Ashland's Lisa Graue and Betsy Morrison, Gannon's Ashley Lowdermilk, and Findlay's Brittany Wells.