BANGOR, Maine — Kenzie Worcester of Washburn has been selected as the 2017-18 Clara Swan Athlete of the Year at Husson University and will be honored, along with Del Merrill Athlete of the Year John Smith, during the Husson Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Dec. 7.
“Our staff is very excited for both Kenzie and John,” said Pergolizzi. “They are not only outstanding student-athletes, but great individuals as well.”
Kenzie Worcester produced her finest season in a Husson women’s basketball uniform and one of the best in program history in 2017-18, while helping lead the Eagles to their third straight North Atlantic Conference Championship.
As a junior last season, she averaged 18.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the floor, 37.9 percent from three-point range and 82.3 percent from the free throw line, after which she was named First Team All-Conference, First Team All-State, and NEWBA Third Team All-Region.
Last winter, she led the team in nearly every category excluding rebounds and blocks. Worcester ranked second in all NCAA DIII Northeast Region players in total points, fourth in minutes played, sixth in field goals made, seventh in free throws made, 11th in points per game, 12th in free throw percentage and 14th in field goal percentage.
She also collected NAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors for the third consecutive season as well as CoSIDA Academic All-District and Academic All-Conference and ECAC President’s Honor Roll accolades. No stranger to receiving awards, Worcester has now earned 54 individual honors during her collegiate career.
This past season, Worcester became the fastest player in program history to score 400 points in a single season, while becoming the first player in 20 seasons to surpass the 500-point mark en route to finishing the season with the most points scored in over 28 years, which ranks second all-time in program history. She is also the first player in 20 seasons to average 18 or more points per game, while finishing her junior campaign netting the third most field goals in program history.
The junior captain also set new NCAA-Era single-season marks for points, scoring average, field goals made and field goals attempted and tied the NCAA-era single-season record for games played with 29.
Worcester, the fastest player in Husson history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau, doing so in just 66 games, enters her senior season having scored 1,355 points with 254 assists, 394 rebounds and 172 steals in 84 career games.
She already owns the Eagles’ career record for free throw percentage (84.1 percent), ranks second in three-point percentage (39.2 percent), third in points and scoring average (15.9 ppg), fifth in free throws made (281), seventh in field goals made (479), eighth in three-point field goals made (116), and ninth in field goal percentage (47.3 percent).
