Canisius College women's basketball freshmen Jen Morabito (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Jamie Ruttle (Burlington, Ontario) were named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team on Monday.

Both freshmen are now eligible to be selected as the MAAC Rookie of the Year, which will be announced at the Awards Reception on Thursday evening at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.

The Golden Griffins have two players selected to the All-Rookie Team for the first time in program history. Canisius has now had at least one MAAC All-Rookie selection in five of the last six years - the only program in the MAAC to make that distinction. The six All-Rookie selections for Canisius since 2005-06 rank as the most in the MAAC during the past six years, with no other team having more than four selections in that timeframe.

Morabito averaged 8.2 points per game in the regular season, which ranked third among the freshmen in the MAAC. The 5-foot-9 guard led MAAC freshmen and ranked third among all players in 3-point field goal percentage (37.1) and tied for third in the MAAC in 3-point field goals made per game (1.7). The two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week is the sixth freshman in program history to make 40 or more 3-pointers and made a 3-pointer in 20 of 25 games.

Ruttle leads Canisius in scoring, averaging 9.0 points per game and would be the third freshman in program history to lead the team in scoring. In conference play, the 6-foot-4 forward led all MAAC freshmen in scoring at 9.8 points, which ranked 19^th in the conference, and she also led MAAC freshmen in free-throw percentage (77.3). Ruttle was a two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week (Dec. 6 and Nov. 29) and has scored eight or more points in 15 of the last 19 games.

Canisius opens play in the 2011 Spark Energy MAAC Championship on Thursday, against rival Niagara University. Tipoff in the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard is set for 12 p.m.