Springfield, Mass. ? University at Albany head coach Trina Patterson has been named the 2008 America East Conference Coach of the Year, as announced by the league office at the annual postseason tournament banquet held on Thursday, March 13 at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Senior forwards Gia Sanders and Kristin Higy, along with freshman guard Janea Aiken, also earned all-conference accolades.

Patterson earned her first coach of the year award after guiding UAlbany to a 10-6 record in conference play, the most wins in league competition for the Great Danes since joining the America East in 2001-02. After posting a 2-11 record in non-conference play, UAlbany started off regular-season league competition with two wins for the first time in program history. Patterson, who changed her team's style of play to include an up-tempo, speedy offense and a tenacious pressure defense, led the Great Danes to five straight conference triumphs, including the program's first-ever triumph at Maine. UAlbany also posted wins at UMBC, Stony Brook and Binghamton and registered five league home victories.

“Coach Patterson is very deserving of this award,” UAlbany Vice President and Director of Athletics Lee McElroy said. “Her staff and student-athletes have faced adversity and obstacles, including a tough non-conference schedule and several close defeats. But her dedication and commitment as a coach helped meet these challenges and allowed the program to set a conference record for wins and gain the highest seed ever for the championship tournament.”

Sanders, a 6-foot native of Bowie, Md., made her first appearance on the all-conference unit as a second-team selection. She repeated as a member of the all-defensive team in a unanimous vote. Sanders is the first player since Danielle Hutcheson in 2003-04 to be named to an all-conference team. Despite missing two games with an injury during conference play, Sanders averaged 9.0 points per game and led the team in rebounding, averaging 6.9 caroms per contest. Sanders, who became the program's all-time blocks leader this season, also led the team with 1.92 steals and 1.52 blocks per game. Sanders, who has 150 career blocks, also stands seventh on UAlbany's career rebounds chart with 616. She earned the first player of the week honor of her career on Feb. 11. Sanders also earned a spot on the all-academic team after achieving a 3.19 cumulative grade point average in sociology.

Higy, who hails from Akron, Ohio, earned all-conference third-team recognition after leading the Great Danes for the majority of the season, averaging 10.9 points per game. Higy, who is in her second season with UAlbany after transferring from George Mason, also averaged 5.3 rebounds and led the team by shooting 43.4 percent from the floor. Higy also led the conference in three-point percentage, hitting 38.4% of her shots from beyond the arc.

Aiken earned all-rookie team honors after averaging 8.0 points per game this season. Aiken, a 5-foot-9 guard from St. Albans, N.Y., started the first two games of the season before becoming a key contributor off the bench. Aiken recently made a return to the starting lineup, and scored 17 points in the Great Danes' road win Binghamton. She recorded a 40.7-percent shooting percentage and grabbed 1.8 rebounds per contest. Aiken, who becomes the first Great Dane to earn all-rookie team honors, was named the conference's rookie of the week on Feb. 11.

UAlbany (12-17, AE 10-6) will play fifth-seeded Binghamton (11-18, AE 9-7) in the quarterfinal round of the America East Conference Championship on Friday, March 14 at 8:00 p.m.

***********

2008 America East All-Conference Basketball Teams

First Team -- Laine Kurpniece, Sr., F, Binghamton; Danielle Hood, Sr., F, Hartford; Erica Beverly, So., F, Hartford; Carlee Cassidy, So., G, UMBC; Courtney Pilypaitis, So., G, Vermont.

Second Team -- Diana Delva, So., F/C, Hartford; Gia Sanders, Sr., F, UAlbany; Jesyka Burks-Wiley, Jr., F, Boston U.; Amy Rosenkrantz, Jr., G, Vermont; May Kotsopolous, So., G, Vermont.

Third Team -- Laura Sario, Sr., G, Binghamton; Kristin Drabyn, Sr., G, UMBC; Dana Ferraro, Sr., F, Stony Brook; Kristin Higy, Sr., F, UAlbany; Christine Kinneary, Jr., G, Boston U.

All-Rookie -- Janea Aiken, Fr., G, UAlbany; Tanna Ross, Fr., G, Maine; Meghan Collabella, Fr., F/C, UMBC; Denise Beliveau, Fr., F, New Hampshire; Kirsten Jeter, Fr., G, Stony Brook.

All-Defensive -- Gia Sanders, Sr., F, UAlbany; Erica Beverly, So., F, Hartford; Dana Ferraro, Sr., F, Stony Brook; Amarachi Umez-Eronini, Jr., G, Boston U.; May Kotsopolous, So., G, Vermont

All-Academic ? Erica Beverly, Hartford, 3.21; Carlee Cassidy, UMBC, 3.09; May Kotsopolous, Vermont, 3.54; Amy Rosenkrantz, Vermont, 3.38; Gia Sanders, UAlbany, 3.19

Player of the Year: Courtney Pilypaitis, So., G, Vermont

Defensive Player of the Year: May Kotsopolous, So., G, Vermont

Rookie of the Year: Denise Beliveau, Fr., F, New Hampshire

Coach of the Year: Trina Patterson, UAlbany