NEW HAVEN, CT (March 4, 2009) - Holy Family University sophomore forward Catherine Carr has been honored as the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted by the 13 CACC head coaches. Caldwell College freshman Kaitlyn Lambert was selected Rookie of the Year, while Holy Family head coach Mike McLaughlin was voted Coach of the Year for the 13th time in his 14 seasons at the helm. Chestnut Hill College claimed the annual Team Sportsmanship Award. The announcement was made by Commissioner Daniel Mara of Waterbury.

Carr, a 6-0 forward from Bernardsville, NJ, ranks seventh in the CACC in scoring at 15.3 points per-game and she also stands 11^th in assist:turnover ratio (1.09). She also posts averages 6.1 rebounds per-game and 2.1 assists per-game while shooting 71.3-percent from the free-throw line and just under 42.0-percent from the field. Carr was the CACC Rookie of the Year in 2007-08 and a second team All-Conference selection. Carr led the Tigers to an undefeated regular-season conference record (18-0) to go with a 25-4 overall mark this season.

Lambert enjoyed an outstanding freshman campaign for Caldwell by averaging 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals per-game while shooting 79.1-percent from the charity stripe. She ranks third on the team in scoring and rebounds and is second in free-throw percentage. Lambert was named CACC Rookie of the Week six times this season, including this past Monday.

McLaughlin was once again named Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to their fourth-straight undefeated regular-season conference record. Holy Family entered the week ranked 25^th in the nation and second in the East Region. Earlier this season, McLaughlin became the fastest women's basketball coach in NCAA history to reach 400 wins, reaching the plateau in just 459 career contests.

Chestnut Hill was handed the annual Team Sportsmanship Award for the second consecutive season after sharing the honor with Felician College in 2007-08.

The All-CACC first team features three repeat selections in Philadelphia junior center Jessica Romano, USP junior center Erin Chesnavich and Wilmington junior forward Amelia Simmons. Dominican senior guard Althea Chambers was also a first team pick along with Carr.

Simmons leads the CACC in scoring (19.6) and is sixth in rebounding (8.8), fourth in field-goal percentage (.482) and ninth in blocks (1.15). Romano paces the league in rebounding (11.1) and is second in scoring (18.2), sixth in FG% (.468), fifth in free-throw percentage (.832) and 12^th in blocks (0.89). Chesnavich leads the CACC in FG% (.562), is sixth in scoring (16.2), third in rebounding (9.5), eighth in free-throw percentage (.813) and seventh in blocks (1.19). Chambers is the third-leading scorer in the CACC (17.7) and she is 16^th in rebounding (6.9), 11^th in FG% (.438), ninth in FT% (.797), eighth in steals (1.81).

The All-CACC second team is composed of Philadelphia senior guard Amanda Brennan, Caldwell senior forward Mackenzie Lynch, Holy Family junior center Christine McCollum, Dominican junior forward Adele Laskowski and Wilmington junior guard Kim Parker.

The All-CACC third team is made up of Holy Family senior forward Melissa Brooks, Caldwell sophomore guard Kirsty Leedham, Bloomfield sophomore center Tiffany McDaniel, Nyack junior guard Jasmine Minter and USP senior forward Allison Weiss.

The complete All-CACC team is listed below.

2008-09 All-CACC Women's Basketball Teams  

Honorable Mention: Victoria Sweet, So., F, Nyack; Patti Foley, Sr., F, Georgian Court; Kellyn Nolan, Sr., F, Goldey-Beacom

Player of the Year: Catherine Carr, So., F, Holy Family

Rookie of the Year: Kaitlyn Lambert, Fr., G, Caldwell

Coach of the Year: Mike McLaughlin, Holy Family

Team Sportsmanship Award: Chestnut Hill College