Velez Earns PSUAC Newcomer Of The Year, First Team All-Conference Recognition
MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine freshman Nikki Velez (Gloucester, N.J./Gloucester City) was named as the Penn State University Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, while also garnering first team all-conference honors the league announced at its end-of-year awards banquet on Sunday.
Velez, who appeared in all 28 games, starting the final 20, led Brandywine in scoring at 17.3 points per game. With a total of 483 points this winter, Velez has scored more single-season points than any Lion in at least 10 years.
She owns 11 20-point games, including 10 since joining the starting lineup on Dec. 9. Velez scored at least 20 points during all three of Brandywine's PSUAC Tournament victories last week, helping the Lions claim their fourth conference championship on Sunday.
Velez immediately became one of the top three-point shooting threats in the conference this season, knocking down an average of 2.6 per game. Her 73 three-pointers are the highest total by anyone in the PSUAC in at least the last 10 seasons. Velez connected on at least one triple in 27-of-28 games, including each of the team's final 25 contests. She matched a season high with five trifectas on Saturday in the Lions' semifinal victory over Penn State Lehigh Valley.
Also the conference leader in three-point field goal percentage, Velez is the first player from Brandywine to lead the PSUAC in three-pointers since current assistant athletic director and assistant women's basketball coach Bobbi Caprice accomplished the feat during the 2012-13 season.
Velez also ranks among the conference leaders in free throw shooting, standing fifth at 76.5 percent, while ranking second with 88 steals.
Velez will have a chance to increase her scoring totals at the USCAA Tournament, which begins Thursday, March 2 in Uniontown, Pa., after Brandywine earned the automatic bid from the PSUAC following its 71-53 championship victory over Penn State Hazleton on Sunday. The USCAA will release seeding and brackets on Tuesday at 5:00 pm.
