April 28, 2011

PHILADELPHIA - Ashley Gale, Jess Koci and Nadia Duncan were named to PhillyCollegeSports.com's All-Philly Division I Women's Basketball Team. Gale was selected to the First Team while Koci and Duncan were both named to the Third Team.

The All-Philly teams were selected by local sportswriters Mel Greenberg and Glenn Papazian.

Gale added another recognition to her full slate. The First Team All-Big 5 and Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honoree led the Explorers with 18 points per game while pulling down five rebounds per game. She was the Atlantic 10's leading scorer in conference play, with 20.7 points per contest. Gale was also tops in the nation for several weeks during the season in steals per game before finishing seventh in the nation in that category with 3.2 thefts per game. She was also named the Atlantic 10's Most Improved Player.

Koci, an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie pick and Second Team All-Big 5 honoree, had a productive freshman season. She was pivotal on the defensive end, finishing sixth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.5 rpg) and second in offensive rebounds per game (3.6). She also chipped in 7.5 points per game.

Duncan was a solid contributor to the 2010-11 Explorers, scoring 8.9 points per game and pulling down 5.8 boards. She registered a double-double in the Explorers' 64-57 win at Loyola (MD), where she poured in 19 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. Duncan added 12 boards in the Explorers' 61-49 win over Rhode Island.

The trio helped the Explorers to a No. 9 seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 6-8 league record.

Temple's Shey Peddy and Tonya Cardoza were named Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, while Penn's Alyssa Baron was tabbed Rookie of the Year. Joining Gale on the First Team were Peddy, Baron, Kristen McCarthy (Temple), Qwedia Wallace (Temple) and Kamile Nacickaite (Drexel).

Joining Koci and Duncan on the Third Team were Kelly Cavallo (Saint Joseph's), Lindsay Kimmell (Villanova) and Hollie Mershon (Drexel).