Franklin Pierce’s Leedham Earns Third-Straight Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Honors

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South Easton, Mass. – Franklin Pierce University senior Johannah Leedham (Ellesmere Port, England) was selected the 2009-2010 Northeast-10 Women’s Basketball Player of the Year for the third straight season as voted by the conference’s 16 head coaches.

Leedham is just the second player since Bentley University’s Alison Fay to win the award three straight seasons. Fay won the award in 1982, 1983 and was co-player of the year in 1984.

Leedham has led Franklin Pierce to its second straight Northeast-10 Regular Season title as the Ravens finished conference play with a 21-1 record and secured the top seed in the upcoming NE-10 championship. She currently leads all of Division II in scoring, as she is averaging 26.7 points per game which is currently a career-best. She is grabbing just over eight rebounds per game, while dishing out 4.4 assists which ranks her in the top five in the Northeast-10 in both categories. On the defensive side of the ball, Leedham currently ranks second in Division II with 115 steals (4.4 spg). In addition, the former NE-10 Freshman of the Year, earned her fourth straight First Team All-Northeast-10 selection.

The University of New Haven’s Helin Marte (Woodhaven, N.Y.) was named the 2009-2010 Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Marte has been a huge part of the Charger’s success this season as she is averaging 11.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Her assists totals are tops in the Northeast-10 and currently ranks her eighth among the Division II leaders with 5.8 assists per game. Marte is also averaging 2.0 steals per game. New Haven advanced to the Northeast-10 championships for the second-straight season.

The conference’s top two scoring freshman have both been named Co-Freshmen of the Year, as Assumption College’s Gabrielle Gibson (Amityville, N.Y.) and University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) shared this year’s honors. Gibson is the first Greyhound since Charde Floyd (2005) to earn Freshman of the Year accolades. She is currently averaging 12.0 points per game to go along with 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest. Gibson has also recorded 40 steals. In addition, she was named to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie team.

Simmons has helped lead the River Hawks back to post-season play leading the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game. She is also averaging close to five rebounds per contest and has dished out 2.2 assists per game. In addition, Simmons was named to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie team.

Franklin Pierce head coach Steve Hancock was selected as the Northeast-10 Coach of the Year in a vote by his peers. Hancock, in his first year back as head coach of the Ravens, guided the team to it’s best-ever finish in conference play in school history. Franklin Pierce claimed its second-straight regular season title and finished with a 21-1 record. The team has also earned the top seed and home court advantage in the upcoming conference championships.

With 16 member institutions the Northeast-10 shares the distinction of being the largest Division II conference in the country along with the PSAC and WVIAC. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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Northeast-10 Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams

First Team
Kim Brennan - Bentley
Johannah Leedham - Franklin Pierce
Taylor Losey - Pace
Emily Rousseau - Stonehill
Kelsey Simonds - Stonehill

Second Team
Colette Josey - Bentley
Dominique Stellmacher - New Haven
Ephiphany Smith - Saint Anselm
Ashley Rath - Saint Rose
Ashara Carrington - So. New Hampshire

Third Team
Kayla Parker - Assumption
Cynthia Gaudet - Franklin Pierce
Gennifer Roy - Merrimack
Jacqueline Johannes - So. Connecticut
Jenny McDade - So. New Hampshire

All-Rookie Team
Gabrielle Gibson - Assumption
Katy Howard - Assumption
Bianca Simmons - UMass Lowell
Kelly Schatzlein - Merrimack
Sloane Sorrell - So. New Hampshire

Player of the Year: Johannah Leedham - Franklin Pierce
Defensive Player of the Year: Helin Marte - New Haven
Co-Freshmen of the Year: Gabrielle Gibson - Assumption & Bianca Simmons - UMass Lowell
Coach of the Year: Steve Hancock - Franklin Pierce