NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 27, 2018) -- University of the Sciences standout Sarah Abbonizio on Tuesday was named the 2017-18 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Basketball Player of the Year, as announced by Commissioner Dan Mara. Abbonizio's announcement highlighted a list of several award honorees, as voting for all awards was conducted by the conference's 14 head coaches in the sport.

Abbonizio -- who also was placed on the All-CACC First Team -- was joined by a trio of other individuals to earn major awards, including Chestnut Hill College's Cassie Sebold (Rookie of the Year), Caldwell University's Sharell Sanders (Defensive Player of the Year) and USciences' Jackie Hartzell (Coach of the Year).

Abbonizio had a tremendous regular season in helping to guide the Devils to a 17-2 league mark and the CACC South Division Championship. She ranks fifth in the league in scoring at 15.9 points per game. Abbonizo has made 153 field goals this season, which is the third most in the CACC, while she also ranks third with 446 total points scored. Abbonizio went for 20 points or more eight times, including a season-best 27 in a win at Felician University on Jan. 20. She also went for 26 each in wins over Stonehill and Jefferson. Defensively, she has been solid this year by collecting 37 steals, which places her among the top 25 in the CACC.

Sebold turned in a strong collegiate debut during the regular season, as she averaged 11.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. She turned in those strong averages despite starting just once. Sebold also ranks sixth in the conference with a free-throw percentage of 82.2 percent. She came off the bench to notch double-figures in scoring in 14 contests, including a career-high 25 in a victory at Post University on Jan. 10.

Sanders was a lockdown defender for the Cougars in helping to guide them to a share of the CACC North Division crown, and thus, she locked up the league's defensive player-of-the-year honor. She paced the conference with 84 steals and had 18 games with at least three thefts. In fact, she has swiped three-or-more steals in each of her last five games. Sanders logged a season-high six steals on two occasions, first in a win over Felician University on Jan. 24, and again in a triumph over Chestnut Hill on Feb. 10. Sanders was also named to the All-CACC Second Team.

Hartzell was named the CACC Coach of the Year after guiding USciences to the South Division Championship a season after the Devils won the CACC Tournament Championship. USciences has been ranked in the East Region Poll each week this season and has appeared in the Division II National Top-25 Poll for multiple weeks.

The other major award handed out on Tuesday was the CACC Team Sportsmanship Award, which was given to Georgian Court University for demonstrating outstanding class and character throughout the campaign.

2017-18 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sarah Abbonizio (University of the Sciences)

2017-18 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Cassie Sebold (Chestnut Hill College)

2017-18 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sharell Sanders (Caldwell University)

2017-18 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH OF THE YEAR
Jackie Hartzell (University of the Sciences)

2017-18 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Georgian Court University

2017-18 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Sarah Abbonizio (University of the Sciences)
Kristen Drogsler (Caldwell University)
Zhane Robinson (Bloomfield College)
Alex Thomas (University of the Sciences)
Jaeda Wildgoose (Chestnut Hill College)

2017-18 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Britani Bryson (Goldey-Beacom College)
Jessica Kaminski (Jefferson)
Sharell Sanders (Caldwell University)
Vicky Tumasz (Chestnut Hill College)
Alynna Williams (Jefferson)

2017-18 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM
Rachel Day (Jefferson)
Jasmyne Fogle (Post University)
Jasmine Gee (Dominican College)
Alexis Hofstaedter (Holy Family University)
Rebecca Rabeiro (Dominican College)
Casey Thomas (Holy Family University)

The 2017-18 CACC Women's Basketball Championship tips off Tuesday night with the quarterfinal round at the sites of the highest seeds. Tuesday's four winners will advance to Championship Weekend at Jefferson, with the semifinals on Saturday at 12 and 2 p.m. The championship final will be held on Sunday at 12 p.m.

ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.