April 4, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's freshman center Sarah Acker, senior guard Timisha Gomez and junior guard Mary Kate McDade have been honored by the Philadelphia Big 5 for their outstanding play during the 2007-08 season.

Acker was named to the All-Big 5 First Team, with Gomez being selected to both All-Big 5 Second Team and All-Academic Team honors, while McDade was earned the Big 5 Sportsmanship Award.

Becoming only the fifth Hawk to earn Big 5 Rookie of the Year accolades and the first SJU freshman to earn All-Big 5 First Team honors, Acker posted a team-best 26 rebounds and 40 points, while shooting 62.1 percent from the field in Big 5 contests. Recording a team-high 11 double-doubles this year, Acker became the first Hawk in program history to lead her team in scoring (11.9 ppg), rebounding (8.7 rpg) and blocks (46) as a freshman. Selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team and the A-10 All-Rookie Team, she set the Saint Joseph's rookie record for rebounds, posting 271 over the 31-game season.

Pacing the Saint Joseph's guards, Gomez capped her career with arguably her best season, earning both All-Big 5 Second Team and All-Academic Team accolades. Versus City Series rivals, Gomez was stellar, averaging 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over three games as Saint Joseph's posted a 2-1 record in those contests. For the season, the four-year letterwinner averaged a career-high in points (11.2 ppg) and rebounds (3.7), while earning Brown Classic All-Tournament Team honors. Gomez finished her Hawk career tied for program's record for games played with 124, while post a 3.2 grade-point-average along the way.

The Hawks' floor general throughout the year, McDade is the first Saint Joseph's player to earn the Big 5's Sportsmanship Award. Starting all 31 games at the point, the co-captain became the first Hawk since 2002-03 to finish the season with more than 125 assists and averaged 5.0 helpers per game in Big 5 action. Possessing a pass-first mentality most of the time, McDade proved to be a consistent scorer for Saint Joseph's, surpassing her total scoring output from her first two years.

Gomez and Acker become the 63rd and 64th Hawks to earn All-Big 5 honors, with Acker joining Temple's Lady Comfort and Ashley Morris, Villanova's Laura Kurz and Stacie Witman and Big 5 Player of the Year, Carlene Hightower of La Salle, on the All-Big 5 First Team. Gomez joins Carrie Biemer of Penn, La Salle's Margaret Elderton, Temple's LaKeisha Eaddy and Lisa Karcic of Villanova on the All-Big 5 Second Team.

Saint Joseph's, which posted its 33rd winning season with a 17-14 mark, finished 2-2 in the Big 5.