GRINNELL’S MORRISSEY NAMED TO ALL-MWC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 1ST TEAM; NECKOPULOS EARNS SPOT ON 2ND TEAM
Grinnell College Athletics
GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College’s Kayla Morrissey ’18 and Alex Neckopulos ’17 have earned spots on the All-Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball Team.
Morrissey, a 5-10 forward from Burr Ridge, Ill. (Lyons Township North), was named to the first team while Neckopulos, a 5-9 forward from Crystal Lake, Ill. (Prairie Ridge), collected second-team honors.
This marks the first time Grinnell has had multiple selections to the All-MWC Team since 2012, and the first time having multiple selections with one being a first-teamer since 1993.
The duo led Grinnell to a repeat trip to the MWC Tournament, the first time that’s happened to the program since the early 1990s. The Pioneers were 12-6 in the MWC, matching their highest win total in league play, and 14-10 overall. The overall win total ranks fifth in program history.
Morrissey led the MWC in scoring with 16.5 points per game, was second in free throw accuracy at 79.3 percent and third in field goal shooting at 42.8 percent. Additionally, she was in the MWC’s top 10 in rebounding (7.1 per game) and blocked shots (1.0 an outing).
With still a season to play, Morrissey ranks sixth in program history in free throws made (249) and ninth in both points (970) and blocked shots (50). In 2016-17 she made the second-most free throws in team history with 142 and tallied the 10th-highest point total at 396.
Neckopulos led Grinnell with 7.6 rebounds a game, which ranked third in the MWC, and made 47 percent of her field goal tries, a figure that would be among the best in the conference if not for falling shy of the minimum field goal total.
Neckopulos, the school-record holder for rebounds in a game with 23, ranks third in Pioneer history for career rebounds with 789 and fourth in rebounding average with 8.6 per game. She also finished 10th in career field goal percentage at Grinnell, hitting 44.9 percent of her shots.
Cornell College’s Diamond Boyd was named the MWC Player of the Year and teammate Anne Visser the Newcomer of the Year. Connie Tilley of St. Norbert College earned Coach of the Year honors.
