Klein, Holloway earn All-NEC honors
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After each earning three weekly league recognitions this season, senior Alex Klein (Waterloo, Ont.) and freshman Sydney Holloway (Morgantown, W. Va.) were respectively named to the All-NEC First Team and NEC All-Rookie Team, as announced by the conference office on Friday.
The senior forward has been a go-to scorer for the NEC Quarterfinal-bound Bulldogs (16-13, 11-7), leading the team with 15.8 points per game. Klein's scoring average places her fourth in the NEC, as she has led Bryant in scoring on 17 occasions this season. The Ontario-native also averages a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game, topping the category in 13 games this year. Klein totaled seven double-doubles and seven 20+ point games, en route to being named NEC Player of the Week on three occasions (week 2, 6, 15).
Most recently, the Ontario native put up 23 points against Central Connecticut off 10-for-15 shooting from the floor and a 3-for-4 mark from the charity strike. Klein has shot 52.9 percent from the floor and scored an average of 19.0 points in the last five games, helping the Bulldogs win six-straight to close out the regular season. The forward finished the regular season with seven top-10 NEC rankings, including her highest finishes of fourth in scoring and rebounding. Klein enters Sunday's quarterfinal with 761 career points and 427 career rebounds.
Holloway also earned three conference weekly nods as the NEC Rookie of the Week, following her performance in week one, two and five. The forward provided significant minutes off the bench for the Bulldogs, averaging 8.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 18.1 minutes per game during the regular season. The rookie totaled a career-high 21 points in 16 rebounds against Sacred Heart, marking her second double-double performance. The 21-point performance was Holloway's first-career 20+ point game. The forward is only the fourth freshman since the 2010-11 season to earn a double-double in her first season in Smithfield. In the contest, Holloway went career-high 10-for-12 from the line, as she leads Bryant with 84.4 percent shooting from the stripe. The rookie's double-double performance at Pitt marked the eighth time in Division I history that a double-double has been recorded in an up-game, making her one-of-six players to do so.
Holloway led the Bulldogs in scoring on three occasions, as well as heading the Black and Gold's rebounding efforts in a pair of games. She totaled two 3+ block games and two 4+ steal games. The West Virginia-native has scored double-figure points in eight games this season. Holloway leads the league with an 83.3 mark from the line, placing her 53rd in the country. She also ranks 14th in the NEC with 1.97 offensive rebounds per game.
The all-conference selections will join their fellow Bulldogs in the program's fifth-straight NEC Quarterfinal and fourth-straight in Smithfield. The forwards will look to help the No. 4 Bulldogs defeat No. 5 Mount St. Mary's, as the two teams tip on Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m. at the Chace.