Westfield, Mass. — Bridgewater State’s Kylie Grassi and Framingham State’s Gwendolyn Carpenter were named the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year while Westfield State’s Octaviana Williams was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Year and head up the 2023-24 All-Conference team which is voted on by the seven coaches around the conference.
Repeating as MASCAC Player of the Year, Grassi, a junior from Plymouth, Mass., helped the Bears to a 10-2 record and second seed in the tournament. She finished out the season in the top 10 of the MASCAC in several categories, including total points (535), points per game (20.6), free throw percentage (75.4), steals (59), assists (68) and blocks (18). 14 times this season, she eclipsed the 20 point mark, including a season-best 31 points with five steals, five assists and three rebounds against MIT.
Fellow MASCAC Player of the Year, Carpenter, a senior from Ashley Falls, Mass., was the anchor for the MASCAC Regular Season Champion Rams who were 11-1 this season. Throughout the season, she averaged 9.5 points and 5.9 rebounds, but she made the biggest impact with her league-leading 193 assists, second-best free throw percentage at 82.6 and third-highest three point percentage at 36.4. Her assists per game average of 7.4 currently leads Division III and twice this season, she registered a triple double which is the third-most in Division III this season. In the win over Westfield State, Carpenter finished with 21 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
Octaviana Williams of Westfield State claims the 2023-24 MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year. The sophomore guard from Springfield, Mass. was a key part of the Owls defense as she was second in the conference in steals with 83 while registering 101 defensive rebounds. As a team, they currently are second in Division III with 22.1 steals per game, turnovers forced at 34.78 and turnover margin at 17.37.
Claiming the 2023-24 MASCAC Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year is Lena Waldron of Worcester State. The first year from Quincy, Mass. averaged 10.1 points and six rebounds per game. She also gathered 30 steals, 38 assists and seven blocks in her first season with the Lancers. Her best scoring performance of the year came in th win over MCLA where she netted 18 points while also registering five steals, three rebounds and two assists.
After guiding the Rams to a 11-1 record and their third conference title in the last four years, Walter Paschal of Framingham State was named the 2023-24 BSN Sports Coach of the Year as voted on by her peers.
Joining Grassi, Carpenter and Williams on the All-Conference First Team are Flannery O’Connor of Framingham State, Jordan Grant and Olivia Hadla of Westfield State.
Landing a spot on the Second Team All-Conference are Sydney Bradbury of Bridgewater State, Kelsey Yelle of Framingham State, Kylie Gates and Ernidia Goncalves of Salem State, Katie Hurynowicz of Worcester State.
2023-24 MASCAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Player/Institution Class Position Hometown
Kylie Grassi, Bridgewater State Junior Forward Plymouth, Mass.
Gwendolyn Carpenter, Framingham State Senior Guard Ashley Falls, Mass.
Flannery O’Connor, Framingham State Senior Forward Amesbury, Mass.
Jordan Grant, Westfield State Senior Forward Gray, Maine
Olivia Hadla, Westfield State Senior Guard Westfield, Mass.
Octaviana Williams, Westfield State Sophomore Guard Springfield, Mass.
SECOND TEAM
Player/Institution Class Position Hometown
Sydney Bradbury, Bridgewater State Senior Guard E. Bridgewater, Mass.
Kelsey Yelle, Framingham State Junior Forward Easton, Mass.
Kylie Gates, Salem State Senior Guard Pembroke, Mass.
Ernidia Goncalves, Salem State Sophomore Forward Everett, Mass.
Katie Hurynowicz, Worcester State Senior Guard Tyngsboro, Mass.
CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kylie Grassi, Bridgewater State Junior Forward Plymouth, Mass.
Gwendolyn Carpenter, Framingham State Senior Guard Ashley Falls, Mass.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Octaviana Williams, Westfield State Sophomore Guard Springfield, Mass.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Lena Waldron, Worcester State First Year Guard Quincy, Mass.
BSN SPORTS COACH OF THE YEAR
Walter Paschal, Framingham State