Awards and an ending for Jaworski
An award-filled week had an unfortunate conclusion for Lafayette senior guard Justin Jaworski.
The Perkiomen Valley graduate saw his Leopards career conclude when No. 3-seed Lafayette was knocked off by No. 6 Bucknell 92-84 in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League tournament Saturday. The loss came despite 28 points from Jaworski.
Earlier in the week he was named to the Patriot League first team (March 2) and earned his third straight Patriot ScholarAthlete honor (March 3).
“Justin has been a great leader and role model for our program,” head coach Fran O’Hanlon said. “He epitomizes what it is to be a true student-athlete. His hard work on the court and in the classroom has paid huge dividends for our program.”
He averaged 21.5 points –ranked 14th nationally – and 3.7 rebounds with 34 assists and 23 steals for the Leopards who finished 9-6. He led the league in scoring during the regular season.
The Schwenksville native finished his career 10th in Lafayette history in scoring with 1,484 points and 233 assists. An Economics major, Jaworski carries a 3.81 grade-point average and earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2020 fall semester.
“Basketball is obviously my passion and I want to play for as long as possible, but at some point the game ends for everybody and I want to be prepared to be successful in that next chapter in life,” Jaworski told the Lafayette athletics website upon receiving the scholar-athlete award. “The Patriot League, and especially Lafayette, is a great place to set yourself up to be successful on and off the court.”
ANNA KONIENCKI (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) >> Koniencki had a breakout season for the Virginia Commonwealth women’s lacrosse team as a junior and has started out this season even better.
The senior attack had 18 goals and five assists in seven games for the 3-4 Rams in the pandemic shortened season after scoring nine goals with four assists in 36 games heading into the season.
Koniencki, from Schwenksville and a Perkiomen Valley graduate, has scored in each of the first four games this season highlighted by a four-goal performance in a 20-8 victory over Longwood on Feb. 17. Along with her seven scores, she has seven draw controls, six caused turnovers and five ground balls.
“Anna has developed personally and athletically more than any player in our program,” coach Jen O’Brien said. “She has gained confidence every year and has become an incredible leader and performer.”
The coach said she loves Koniencki’s passion and intensity.
“Anna brings a ‘realness’ to the team,” O’Brien said. “She is so genuine with her words and actions and through that, she motivates her teammates. She is constantly striving to learn and improve so she can more impact the people she interacts with.”
The Rams are 3-1 and are scheduled to face Furman in a non-league home contest on Thursday in Richmond.
ABBY KAPP (BOYERTOWN) >> The Bucknell senior guard was voted the 2020-21 Patriot League Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, in addition to being named to the five-player Academic All-League Team on March 5. The academic honor – she maintains a 3.87 cumulative gradepoint average as an economics major with a public policy minor – adds to a long list of Patriot League accolades Kapp has collected during her career, including a Third Team AllPatriot League nod earlier this week.
The Barto native is averaging 12.1 points per game for the Bison, which won their Patriot League quarterfinal over Loyola on Sunday.
JEFF WOODWARD (METHACTON) >> The 6-foot-11, 265-pound freshman center was named to the Patriot League All-Rookie team on March 2 after coming off the bench to help the Colgate men’s basketball team post a 12-1 record. Woodward averaged 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds with 25 assists, seven steals and 12 blocked shots. The top-seeded Raiders, who topped Boston University 77-69 in the league quarterfinals last Saturday, will host Bucknell in a semifinal game Wednesday in Hamilton, N.Y.
JASON CLINTON (BOYERTOWN) >> The 5-foot-11, 245-pound senior attackman has scored a goal in each of the first two games for the Frostburg men’s lacrosse team, the Bobcats 2-0 after a 12-11 victory over Lake Erie last Saturday. Clinton also had three ground balls and a caused turnover in the game. He is wrapping up a standout career with Frostburg. The two goals give him 62 and along with 28 assists, he is closing in on 100 points scored with 90.
TAYLOR NEWHART (SPRINGFORD) >> The red-shirt senior is a key performer on defense for the La Salle women’s soccer team, the Explorers off to a 3-0 start and they were all shutouts