GVSU's Boensch Named GLIAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year; 2019-20 All-GLIAC Teams Announced

Posted: Mar 06, 2020

GLIAC - Grand Valley St. senior center Cassidy Boensch was selected the 2019-20 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Women's Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season following voting conducted by the league's head coaches. Saginaw Valley State guard Kaitlyn Zarycki was named GLIAC Freshman of the Year, while Ashland's Kari Pickens earned GLIAC Coach of the Year accolades

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Cassidy Boensch |Sr.| Center | Grand Valley St.

Grand Valley State senior center Cassidy Boensch has been named GLIAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season after leading the Lakers to a 26-2 overall and 18-2 GLIAC record in 2019-20. The Au. Gres, Mich native was named GLIAC South Player of the Week on five occasions throughout the season, highlighted by a week against Parkside and Purdue Northwest where she scored 58 points, grabbed 25 rebounds, and blocked seven shots in just 42 minutes played across the two contests. Boensch led the GLIAC in rebounding (9.2), blocked shots (3.2), free-throws made (130), and double-doubles (14), while ranking second in points per game (20.1) and field goal percentage (58.2%). The senior also anchored the GVSU defense that was second in the nation in scoring defense (49.0 points per game allowed), third in blocked shots (6.3), and sixth in three-point field goal defense (25.2%). Boensch became the all-time leading shot-blocker in program history (286 blocks) on Feb. 20 at Northern Michigan and is currently second in rebounds (969 rebounds) and third in points scored (1,792).

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Kaitlyn Zarycki | Fr. | Guard | Saginaw Valley St.

Kaitlyn Zarycki had a standout first season for the Cardinal Women's Basketball team. The 5-8 guard from Niles, Michigan led Saginaw Valley in scoring with an average of 13.4 ppg, adding 4.6 rpg and 2.6 apg in her 29 games played. Zarycki recorded double-digit scoring figures in 20 games and had over 20 points in six contests, leading Saginaw Valley State University to its first GLIAC Tournament since the 2016-17 campaign.

COACH OF THE YEAR - Kari Pickens | 2nd Season | Ashland

Ashland University head coach Kari Pickens has led the Eagles to a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and a 29-0 overall record in just her second season at the helm. Ashland is 58-3 under Pickens to date, and she is Ashland's third GLIAC Coach of the Year, following Sue Ramsey (2011-12) and Robyn Fralick (2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18). Pickens is just the second woman in conference history to be named both GLIAC Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, joining Dawn (Zarling) Plitzuweit.

Below are the complete all-conference teams:

2019-20 GLIAC Women's Basketball Postseason Awards & All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year: Cassidy Boensch - Grand Valley St.
Freshman of the Year: Kaitlyn Zarycki - Saginaw Valley State
Coach of the Year: Kari Pickens - Ashland
2019-20 All-GLIAC First Team
Name	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown
Cassidy Boensch	Grand Valley St.	Sr.	C	Au Gres, Mich.
Jodi Johnson	Ashland	Sr.	G/F	Wadsworth, Ohio
Sara Loomis	Ashland	Sr.	F	Malvern, Ohio
Riley Blair	Ferris St.	Sr.	G	Dearborn, Mich.
Renee Stimpert	Ashland	Sr.	G	Ashland, Ohio
Adrienne Anderson	Ferris St.	Jr.	G	Ypsilanti, Mich.
Jessica Schultz	Northern Michigan	Sr.	F/C	Mineral Point, Wis.
Alyssa Nelson	Parkside	So.	G	New Berlin, Wis.
Jenn DeBoer	Grand Valley St.	Sr.	G	Byron Center, Mich.
Maddie Dailey	Grand Valley St.	Sr.	F	Hastings, Mich.
2019-20 All-GLIAC Second Team
Name	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown
Taylor Stephen	Parkside	Sr.	G	Connersville, Ind.
Kaitlyn Zarycki	Saginaw Valley St.	Fr.	G	Niles, Mich.
Sadia Johnson	Wayne State	Sr.	G	Kalamazoo, Mich.
Mallory McCartney	Ferris State	Fr.	G	Saginaw, Mich.
Cassidy Trotter	Michigan Tech	Jr.	G	Beaver Dam, Wis.
Hallie Heidmann	Ashland	So.	G	Cincinnati, Ohio
Nastassia Chambers	Wayne State	Sr.	G	Ypsilanti, Mich.
Ellie Mackay	Michigan Tech	So.	G	Novi, Mich.
Karlee Pireu	Ashland	Jr.	F	Massillon, Ohio
Carolina Rahkonen	Parkside	Sr.	G/F	Espoo, Finland
2019-20 GLIAC All-Defensive Team
Name	School	Year	Pos.	Hometown
Cassidy Boensch	Grand Valley St.	Sr.	C	Au Gres, Mich.
Adrienne Anderson	Ferris State	Jr.	G	Ypsilanti, Mich.
Jodi Johnson	Ashland	Sr.	G/F	Wadsworth, Ohio
Sara Loomis	Ashland	Sr.	F	Malvern, Ohio
Taylor Stephen	Parkside	Sr.	G	Connersville, Ind.
Jessica Schultz	Northern Michigan	Sr.	F/C	Mineral Point, Wis.
Maddie Dailey	Grand Valley St.	Sr.	F	Hastings, Mich.
Victoria Hedemark	Grand Valley St.	Sr.	G	Dansville, Mich.
Sam Cherney	Wayne State	So.	F	Farmington Hills, Mich
Taryn Taugher	Grand Valley St.	Gr.	G	Freeland, Mich.