March 5, 2013

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- Navy women’s basketball players Jade Geif (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) and Alix Membreno (Jr., Loxahatchee, Fla.) both garnered accolades from the Patriot League on Tuesday as Geif earned first-team all-league honors and Membreno was named to the league’s second team.

The voting for the awards was conducted by the league’s head coaches, with coaches not allowed to cast a ballot for a player on their respective team.

Geif tied with Army’s Kelsey Minato for the league’s player-of-the-year award in both the initial balloting and in another round of voting.  By rule, the league office then casts a vote to break ties for major awards and Minato was selected as the player of the year.

Geif, who along with Army’s Anna Simmers were the only players to earn consensus first-team all-league honors, led the Patriot League in field goal percentage (54.4%), ranked third in rebounding (7.9 rpg), fourth in scoring (13.1 ppg) and ninth in minutes played (31.2 mpg) on the overall season.  In league games, she paced all players in field goal percentage (53.3%) while ranking second in rebounds (8.3 rpg), second in offensive rebounds (3.4 rpg), fourth in scoring (13.4 ppg) and ninth in minutes played (32.1 mpg).

Geif scored 10 or more points in 22 games, grabbed 10 or more boards in eight games, recorded seven double-doubles and missed a double-double by one rebound in seven additional games

A second-team selection in 2012, the 2011 league rookie of the year and a two-time MVP of the league tournament, Geif needed only 91 games to notch the 1,000th point of her career, a milestone she reached on Feb. 23 in Navy’s game against Colgate without having made a three-point shot to date.  She also ranks third in Navy history for career field goal percentage (51.5%) and stands seventh with 733 career rebounds.  

Membreno previously joined Geif in earning second-team all-league accolades in 2012.  A two-time member of the Patriot League All-Tournament Team, Membreno ranked second on the Navy team to Geif this season in both scoring (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) and paced the Mids with 47 steals.  She ranked fourth in the league in steals (1.6 spg), stood sixth in defensive rebounds (4.7 drpg), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (31.6%) and was ninth in both scoring and rebounding.  Against league foes, Membreno ranked fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), tied Geif for fourth in defensive rebounds (4.9 drpg), was sixth in rebounds (6.7 rpg) and ninth in scoring (11.4 ppg).

Membreno reached double figures in points in 17 games this season, dished out five or more assists in four games and snared at least 10 caroms in four games.

She has totaled 795 career points and recently grabbed the 500th rebound of her career.

The Mids, who shared the regular season title in the Patriot League with Army, will play host to Lafayette Thursday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament.  Tickets for the game are available through the Navy Ticket Office by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY or by visiting NavySports.com.

Player of the Year – Kelsey Minato, Army, Fr., G
Defensive Player of the Year – Anna Simmers, Army, Sr., G
Rookie of the Year – Kelsey Minato, Army, Fr., G
Coach of the Year – Dave Magarity, Army
 
First Team All-Patriot League (listed alphabetically by school)
Kelsey Minato, Army, Fr., G
Anna Simmers, Army, Sr., G
Alex Smith, Holy Cross, Jr., G
Kerry Kinek, Lehigh, Fr., F
Jade Geif, Navy, Jr., F
 
Second Team All-Patriot League (listed alphabetically by school)
Alexis Dobbs, American, Jr., G
Shelby Romine, Bucknell, Jr., G
Jhazmine Lynch, Colgate, Sr., G
Amy Lepley, Holy Cross, Sr., G/F
Alix Membreno, Navy, Jr., G
 
All-Rookie Team (listed alphabetically by school)
Aimee Oertner, Army, F/C
Kelsey Minato, Army, G
Josie Stockill, Colgate, F
Jamie O’Hare, Lafayette, G
Kerry Kinek, Lehigh, F