EDISON, N.J. – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced its 2015-16 women's basketball All-MAAC Teams on Monday afternoon, and Crystal Porter and Maria Welch earned conference accolades. Porter was named to the second team, while Welch was selected to the All-Rookie team.
This is the first time Porter has been named to an All-Conference team, as the senior-leader leads the Griffs in points per game (9.9), rebounds per game (5.5) and total assists (106).
The senior forward enters the tournament averaging 8.3 points per contest for her career and has tallied well over 500 career rebounds for the Blue and Gold.
Porter's senior season has proved to be a special one, not only posting strong fourth-year numbers, but having the opportunity to play in front of friends and family at the collegiate level for the first time.
In early December Canisius played Lamar and University of Texas in Beaumont, Texas and Austin, respectively and Porter had close friends and family attend the games.
Welch's numbers took a drastic upward trend once she was pressed into a starting duty, with injuries to members of the Blue and Gold. The Erie, Pa., native rose to third on the team in points per game, now averaging 8.3 per contest, and she is a consistent threat at the 3-ball , averaging 1.6 treys per game, and posting a shooting percentage of 36.2 beyond the arc.
Welch's season as a whole has been a successful one, but her numbers in the last 12 contests have been superb. After reaching double-figures just twice in the first 17 games, the first-year guard has scored at least 10 points in 10 of her last 12 games. Also she has scored 20 or more points twice. In her last 12 games Welch si averaging 13.4 points per game, along with 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 treys per game.
For her efforts against Manhattan and Monmouth, Welch was named MAAC Rookie of the Week.
Canisius secured the No. 8 seed in the tournament, finishing the season with a 13-16 overall mark and an 8-12 conference record. The Griffs will open the tournament for the second-straight year, playing Niagara at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. The tournament is taking place in Albany, N.Y. at the Times Union Center.
