TCNJ ‘S KLIMOWICZ AND HENDERSON HONORED BY WBCA

By Lyle Fulton 

Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey women’s basketball program received a pair of honors as junior Hillary Klimowicz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) was named as a finalist for All-America honors, while head coach Dawn Henderson was tabbed as the regional coach of the year.

Klimowicz was one of five players from Region 3 named to the ballot for the 2008 State Farm Coaches’ All-America Basketball Team for the Women’s Coaches Basketball Coaches Association for Division III. There are eight different regions and the 40 finalists, who are voted upon by WBCA member coaches in each of the eight WBCA award regions, are now in the running for selection to the 10-member State Farm Coaches\’ All-America Team.

The State Farm Coaches\’ All-America Basketball Team will be announced at the NCAA Division III Women\’s Basketball Banquet on Thursday, March 20, at Hope College in Holland, Mich.

Henderson was tabbed as 2008 Russell Athletic/WBCA Region 3 Coach of the Year after guiding the Lions to a 22-7 season. TCNJ won the New Jersey Athletic Conference South Division with an 11-2 conference mark and advanced to the conference championship game. The team then earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship and moved into the second round of the tournament.

The veteran coach was previously tabbed as the 2008 NJAC Coach of the Year and boasts a career record of 334-164.

Klimowicz has reeled in numerous conference honors as she was selected as the 2008 NJAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-NJAC honoree.

The center had a banner season leading the team in a host of categories. She was the team’s top scorer and rebounder averaging 16.9 points and 11.0 boards. Those numbers rank her second and third, respectively, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. She also leads the conference in field goal percentage hitting on 64.4 percent of her shots (206-for-320) and blocked shots per game at 4.10 per contest. Those numbers rank second and fourth nationally.

Klimowicz has received a host of other honors this season, including being named the NJAC Player of the Week seven times and ECAC Metro Player of the Week twice. She was named the most valuable player of the Gwynedd-Mercy College Classic and earned a spot on the Marymount University Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team. She recorded 20 double-doubles this season and scored in double figures in 27 of 29 games.

Klimowicz was previously recognized for her effort in the classroom as she earned CoSIDA’s ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II College Division honors. She was named All-District II Third Team as a psychology major and boasts a grade-point-average of 3.318.

Klimowicz was a 2006-07 All-NJAC First Team selection after joining the Lions from NCAA Division I St. Joseph’s University where she was selected the 2005-06 Atlantic 10 and Big Five Rookie of the Year.

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