March 5, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - Posting one of the most prolific rookie campaigns in Saint Joseph's women's basketball history, Hawks' freshman center Sarah Acker was acknowledged for her outstanding play during the 2007-08 season as she was named to both the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team and the A-10 All-Rookie Team, conference officials announced Wednesday.

Recording a team-high 10 double-doubles this year, Acker has paced Saint Joseph's in scoring (12.2 ppg), rebounding (8.9 rpg) and blocks (44) as a rookie. Standing among the conference leaders in all three categories, her 257 rebounds rank 13th among SJU single-season leaders and are five shy of setting a new Hawk freshman record, which was set at 261 by Tina Dishman during the 1976-77 season.

"To have Sarah recognized as one of the top 15 players in the Atlantic 10 as a freshman is a phenomenal achievement," said Saint Joseph's head coach Cindy Griffin. "She has been one of our most consistent producers in both scoring and rebounding all year and it's rewarding to know others have noticed."

A four-time A-10 Rookie of the Week honoree during the regular season, Acker enters this week's Atlantic 10 Championship leading the conference and ranking ninth nationally in field goal percentage, going 149-of-248 from the floor for 60.1 percent. Helping Saint Joseph's to the Hilton Philadelphia Hawk Classic title in December, Acker earned her first individual collegiate honor as she was selected to the All-Tournament Team after helping the Hawks to wins over NJIT and No. 15 Auburn.

Acker, who joins former Hawks Susan Moran and Angela Zampella as the only SJU members to ever earn A-10 All-Rookie Team and All-Conference accolades in the same season, is 11th Saint Joseph's student-athlete to earn All-Rookie honors and 52nd Hawk to be named to an All-Conference team.

Joining Acker on the A-10 All-Conference Third Team are Charlotte's Sabrina Gregory, George Washington's Sarah-Jo Lawrence, Saint Louis' Theresa Lisch and Kristi Little of Duquesne, while Dayton's Kristin Daugherty, Fordham's Megan Mahoney, Ta'Shia Phillips of Xavier and Brittani Shells of Richmond round out the All-Rookie squad.

Leading Saint Joseph's to a 16-13 overall record and 8-6 mark in A-10 play, Acker and the sixth-seeded Hawks open play versus the 11th-seeded Saint Louis Billikens in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Championship this Friday, March 7, at 6 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.