Coffin named NESCAC Player of the Year; Barton, Kostakis also honored

Click here for the NESCAC women’s basketball all-conference honors release.

Bates College junior Meg Coffin was recognized as the premier women’s basketball player in the New England Small College Athletic Conference on Wednesday, while sophomore teammates Sarah Barton and Matia Kostakis also earned league honors.

Coffin, a second-team All-NESCAC player a year ago, made the leap to become Player of the Year for 2005-06, the second straight season a Bates player has won the honor — Olivia Zurek ’05 won it last season.

The 6-1 center from Westford, Mass., was named conference Player of the Week on two occasions, and she ranked among the top four in the NESCAC in five major statistical categories: she was second in scoring (17.1 ppg), first in rebounding (10.8 rpg), second in field goal percentage (.587), fourth in blocked shots (1.54 bpg) and fourth in steals (2.25 spg).

Coffin was also Bates’ most consistent player, as exhibited by her 16 double-doubles. Coffin had only one game without reaching double figures in either points or rebounds, but in that game against Wesleyan she collected nine points and eight rebounds.

Coffin is also a two-time All-NESCAC defender in women’s soccer, and was named second-team All-America in 2005.

Barton, who was NESCAC Co-Rookie of the Year in 2004-05 with Kostakis, is fifth in Division III in assists per game, at 6.9, and she leads the conference in that category by a whopping margin of 2.6 over her nearest competitor.

The 5-9 point guard from Portsmouth, N.H., also led the NESCAC in three-point shooting (.412), was eighth in steals (1.78 spg), 29th in scoring (8.2 ppg), and 15th in blocked shots (0.59 bpg). Barton has started in all 27 games this season and leads Bates in minutes per game (31.3) while grabbing 4.5 rebounds per game, third on the team, and shooting .818 at the free throw line, second on the team.

Kostakis missed the team’s first seven games due to a foot injury, but made an immediate impact when she was able to hit the floor. The 6-0 forward from Andover, Mass., was Bates’ second-leading scorer and rebounder, at 12.1 ppg and 7.2 rpg. Those averages would put her 10th and ninth, respectively, in the conference leaders, but because she hasn’t quite played in 75 percent of the Bobcats’ games — she will have after Bates’ NCAA tournament game on Friday — she doesn’t appear among those listed.

Kostakis shot an impressive .806 on free throws, thanks in part to a 13-for-14 performance in Bates’ biggest win of the season, 56-51 over arch rival Bowdoin on Jan. 13.

The Bates women’s team (19-8), ranked 24th in this week’s D3Hoops.com poll, travels to Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y., on Friday to play Bridgewater (Va.) College (22-6) at 5:30 p.m. in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament. The winner of that game will advance to face Mount Saint Mary (25-3) or Baruch College (22-6) Saturday at 5 p.m.