NEC Release | Award Winners PDF

SOMERSET, N.J. - The Northeast Conference has announced its 2014-15 All-Conference award winners on Friday morning and the Fairleigh Dickinson women's basketball team garnered five awards between three players: senior Amanda Andrades (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne), redshirt junior Erika Livermore (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area), and junior Kelsey Cruz (Chester, Va./Lloyd C. Bird).

Livermore garnered All-NEC First Team, All-Defensive Team, and Defensive Player of the Year.
Cruz was named to the All-NEC Second Team.
Andrades earned All-Defensive Team honors.

"Amanda, Kelsey, and Erika have been three of the best players in the NEC this season and these honors are all well deserved. Their accomplishments and their awards are great for our team and the university." - Head Coach Pete Cinella

Andrades has been a four-year starter and point guard for the Knights and just finished a stellar regular season in which she ranked in the top-20 nationally in assists per game (5.8 - 19th) and assist turnover ratio (2.53 - 13th), plus her 2.41 steals per contest ranked her 50th overall. This season she has eight games with at least four steals, reaching her career high with seven against NJIT on November 19. Andrades also matched her career-best with back-to-back 18-point games against Saint Peter's and Brown, both on the road, in the middle of December. She has also notched more than 10 assists on three separate occasions, including two contests with her career mark of 11 helpers. The diminutive point guard ranks third all-time in program history with 466 career assists.

"Amanda making all-defense is well deserved. She gets a ton of steals and does a great job of locking down major scorers or as a helper." - Cinella

After a slow start to her junior campaign, Cruz has flourished with very efficient performances, including 17 contests where the shooting guard has converted over 42% of her field goal attempts. In fact, Cruz has 11 games where she has shot at least 50% from the floor, all while averaging 16 attempts per contest. All told, the junior wrapped up her regular season with 508 points (8th-most all-time) and the NEC's fourth-highest scoring average (18.1 ppg), crossing the 1,000 career point threshold with the eventual game winner at St. Francis Brooklyn on February 23. Cruz currently is 15th in program history with 1,053 points.

"Kelsey is one of the most improved players in the league and has hit as many big shots this season as anyone in the conference." - Cinella

This is the third time that Livermore has garnered postseason accolades, after being named to the All-Rookie team after the '11-'12 season, All-NEC First Team after the '12-'13 season, and now this year's three honors. Livermore ranks 4th in the country with 5.0 offensive rebounds per game, 21st in the country with 14 double-doubles, 32nd with 2.41 blocked shots per contest, and 35th with a 10.1 rebounding average. She was an impact player on both sides of the court this season and her 70 blocks is second-most in a single season in school history. She scored her 1,000th point and now sits seventh all-time with 1,330 points. Her 536 points and 294 rebounds this season rank fourth and eighth in a single season in program history, as well. Hers is FDU's first ever Defensive Player of the Year honor.

"For Erika to win a major award such as Defensive Player of the Year is great. She can cover any post, is a tremendous helper, and rarely fouls. For her to make First Team after missing last season says a lot about her work ethic and toughness. She is a much better player now than before the injury, continues to improve, and has been a fantastic leader as a three-year captain." - Cinella

The Knights are back in the Northeast Conference Tournament with Sunday's quarterfinals against last year's league champions, Robert Morris, in Moon Township, Pa. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row.