Sierra Taylor of Williamstown Earns Postseason Honors from PSAC

2017 Mar 2

Sierra Taylor of Williamstown, NJ (08094) was one of two Kutztown University women's basketball players to be honored on Thursday.

Sierra Taylor became the fifth rookie in program history, and the first since 2011, to be named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Freshman of the Year, while graduate-transfer Alex Heck capped her one season with the Kutztown University women's basketball team with an All-PSAC East Second Team selection, as the league released its major awards and All-PSAC Teams on Thursday.

Taylor joins Cyndi Wasilius (1989-90), Keri Suydam (1998-99), Mercedes Van Wagner (2004-05) and Andrea Sisson (2010-11) as the only PSAC Freshman of the Year in KU's 36 seasons in the conference.

A four-time PSAC East Freshman of the Week, Taylor started all 31 of Kutztown's games this season and averaged a team-leading 4.2 assists per game, good for sixth in the PSAC. Her 131 total assists are currently third-most among Division II freshmen and rank eighth all-time in the program's single-season annals. She dished out 4+ assists in 17-of-31 contests and registered a career-high nine vs. Mansfield on Feb. 8.

Taylor was also fourth on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game, which lead all freshmen and ranks 35th in the PSAC. She scored in double-figures in 21-of-31 games, including pouring in a career-high 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting at Indiana (PA) on Dec. 4.

Notably, Taylor is also fifth in the PSAC with a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio, while her .779 free throw percentage ranks 13th. She was also second on the team with 81 free throws.

Heck made a memorable impact in her short time at KU, which began with her receiving the first PSAC East Athlete of the Week award of the season after becoming the first Golden Bear since 1996 to register back-to-back games of 25+ points. She also scored a career-high 30 points vs. Clarion on Jan. 3, becoming the first Golden Bear since 2011 to reach 30 points in a game. For the season, she led KU with an average of 13.0 points, which is currently 21st in the PSAC.

Heck also led Kutztown in free throw percentage (.814) and field goal percentage (.423), both of which rank in the top-11 of the PSAC. She made a team-high 83 free throws and was second on the team at 7.2 rebounds per game, good for 13th in the league. She was also second on the team with 37 steals and 15 blocks.

Kutztown finished its season 13-18 overall with a record of 10-12 in the PSAC East. The 13 wins were its most since the 2012-13 season, while its 10 PSAC victories were tied for its most since 2012-13. The Maroon and Gold qualified for the PSAC Tournament - for the fourth time in five years - as the No. 3 seed, its best finish in the PSAC East since finishing second in 2009-10.