Munro, Gascoigne, McMillan, Donaldson and Beaumont honoured with AUS Awards
The 2023-24 Atlantic University Sport women's basketball awards were announced on Thursday, with several members of the Saint Mary's Huskies being honoured among the league's best. Scott Munro was named AUS Coach of the Year, guard Clara Gascoigne was named AUS Defensive Player of the Year, guard Alaina McMillan was named a First Team AUS All-Star, guard Courtney Donaldson and forward Lucina Beaumont were both named Second Team AUS All-Stars.
Coach of the Year: Scott Munro
Huskies head coach Scott Munro receives the Carolyn Savoy Trophy as the 2023-24 Atlantic University Sport women's basketball Coach of the Year. A Fredericton, NB native, Munro led the Huskies to a league best 17-3 AUS record, and 25-4 overall record against U SPORTS competition. The Huskies led the AUS in offence (78.3 points scored per game) and defence (61.6 points allowed per game), winning by an average margin of 16.7 points per game. Saint Mary's was ranked in the U SPORTS Top 10 each week of the season, peaking at #6.
This is the fourth time in Munro's 14 seasons as Huskies head coach that he has been named AUS Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, having previously won the honour in 2016-17, 2015-16 and 2012-13. He'll now be the conference nominee for the Peter Ennis Award for U SPORTS women's basketball Coach of the Year. The most recent AUS winner of the national award was Munro, who took home the honour in 2012-13.
Defensive Player of the Year: Clara Gascoigne
Huskies guard Clara Gascoigne has been named the 2023-24 AUS Defensive Player of the Year.
A fourth year guard from Dartmouth, NS, Gascoigne usually guarded the opponent's top player and led the AUS in blocks (28) and was ninth in steals (28) for a Huskies team that allowed a conference low 61.6 points per game. Gascoigne started all 20 regular season games for the Huskies, averaging 10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, and also ranked among the AUS leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6 assists-to-turnovers - first in AUS), three-point percentage (38.5% - second in AUS), field goal percentage (44.6% - sixth in AUS), and assists (62 assists - sixth).
This is the second straight season that Gascoigne has been named AUS Defensive Player of the Year, as she becomes just the fifth player in AUS history to win the honour in multiple seasons. She'll now be the conference nominee for U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year. The most recent and only AUS winner of the national award was former Huskies guard Kennisha Shanice-Luberise, who took home the honour in 2015-16.
First Team All-Star: Alaina McMillan
A fifth year guard from Brantford, ON, Alaina McMillan has been named a 2023-24 AUS First Team All-Star for the third straight season. McMillan started all 20 regular season games for the Huskies, averaging 15.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game. McMillan led the AUS in three-pointers made (50), and ranking among the AUS leaders in scoring (303 points - seventh in AUS), assists (84 assists - second in AUS), free-throw percentage (87.8% - third in AUS), three-point percentage (32.5% - ninth in AUS) and field goals made (105 field goals made- eighth in AUS).
McMillan was also named an AUS Second Team All-Star in 2019-20, and to the AUS All-Rookie Team in 2018-19, joining Huskies legends Kennisha-Shanice Luberisse (2014-18), Justine Colley-Leger (2009-14) and Julie Galipeau (1999-04) as the only players in Huskies women's basketball history to be honoured as All-Stars four or more times in their AUS career.
Second Team All-Stars: Courtney Donaldson & Lucina Beaumont
A fifth year guard from Kelowna, BC, Courtney Donaldson has been named a 2023-24 AUS Second Team All-Star. Donaldson started all 20 regular season games for the Huskies, averaging 15.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Huskies leading scorer, Donaldson ranked among the AUS leaders in scoring (317 points - sixth in AUS), points per game (15.8 points per game - seventh in AUS), three-pointers made (49 three-pointers made - second in AUS), field goals made (110 field goals made - seventh in AUS), free-throw percentage (82.8% - fifth in AUS), and three-point percentage (33.3% - eighth in AUS).
A fourth year forward from Fredericton, NB, Lucina Beaumont has been named a 2023-24 AUS Second Team All-Star. Beaumont started all 20 regular season games for the Huskies, averaging 10.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.6 steals per game. The Huskies leading rebounder, Beaumont ranked among the AUS leaders in total rebounds (178 total rebounds - third in AUS), rebounds per game (8.9 rebounds per game - fourth in AUS), and blocked shots (16 blocked shots- eighth in AUS). Beaumont was previously selected to the AUS All-Rookie team in 2019-20.
Full release: 2023-24 AUS women's basketball major awards and all-stars announced
UNB's Veinot named AUS Most Valuable Player
(HALIFAX, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2023-24 AUS women's basketball all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's eight head coaches following regular season play.
Jayda Veinot, a fifth-year forward for the UNB Reds has been chosen as the 2023-24 AUS Women's Basketball Most Valuable Player.
Other major award winners include Dalhousie's Kaitlyn Ferrier as the Rookie of the Year; Saint Mary's Clara Gascoigne as Defensive Player of the Year; UNB's Katie Butts as the Student-Athlete Community Service Award recipient; Avery Walker of STFX as the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Tracy McLeod Award; and Saint Mary's head coach Scott Munro as AUS Coach of the Year.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jayda Veinot, UNB Reds
Jayda Veinot of the UNB Reds is the Atlantic University Sport Women's Basketball Most Valuable Player for the 2023-24 season.
A fifth-year wing from Port Williams, N.S., Veinot finished second in the conference – and third in U SPORTS - in scoring, averaging 21.3 points every time she stepped on the court. She added 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, while also shooting a remarkable 91.3% from the free throw line.
Her play helped the Reds to the league's second-best regular season record (15-5), which grants them a first-round bye through to the semifinals of the AUS playoffs.
Veinot makes a bit of history with the win, as she becomes the first player in AUS women's basketball history to win the MVP award with two different schools – also doing so in 2021-22 as a member of the Acadia Axewomen.
She is the first UNB player to earn MVP honours since Amanda Sharp did back in the 2010-11 season.
Veinot now becomes a nominee for the Nan Copp Award for U SPORTS player of the year. Three players from the AUS conference have earned the national honour: UPEI's Jenna Mae Ellworth (2019-20), Acadia's Paloma Anderson (2017-18) and Saint Mary's Justine Colley (2012-13, 2013-14).
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kaitlyn Ferrier, Dalhousie Tigers
Kaitlyn Ferrier of the Dalhousie Tigers has been named the 2023-24 AUS Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year.
In just her first AUS season, the Arts student from Calgary, Alta., started all 20 regular season games and averaged 18.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Her 34.8 minutes played per game ranked fourth amongst all AUS players.
Ferrier becomes the first Tiger to win the Rookie of the Year award since Alex Legge did so back in the 2006-07 season.
She will now represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the Kathy Shields Award for U SPORTS Rookie of the Year. Cape Breton University's Kiyara Letlow took home the national honour in the 2021-22 season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Clara Gascoigne, Saint Mary's
Clara Gascoigne of the Saint Mary's Huskies has been chosen as the AUS Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
A six-foot guard from Dartmouth, N.S., Gascoigne started in all 20 games for the Huskies this season, averaging 27.4 minutes per game. She collected 81 defensive rebounds and 28 steals, while leading the AUS in blocks with 28.
She joins UPEI's Carolina Del Santo (2017-18, 2018-19) and fellow Huskie Kennisha-Shanice Luberisse (2014-15, 2015-16) as the only players in league history to win the award in back-to-back years.
Gascoigne now moves on to be the conference nominee for the U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year award. Luberisse is the only AUS player to ever be honoured with the U SPORTS award, achieving the feat in the 2015-16 season.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Katie Butts, UNB Reds
Katie Butts of the UNB Reds is the 2023-24 recipient of the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award and the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Sylvia Sweeney Award.
The six-foot-two forward from Ottawa, Ont., finished the 2023-24 regular season averaging 12.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
A Dean's List and Academic All-Canadian with a 3.9 GPA, the Psychology major has contributed to the community of Fredericton in several ways.
She developed, proposed and implemented an annual initiative to send less fortunate kids to Reds Sports Camps called the 'Send a Kid to Camp Fund'. Butts designed and sold Reds merchandise the past two seasons with all profits going towards the fund. Eleven children benefitted from her efforts in 2023 with more than 15 expected to this year.
She also was responsible for the return of the 'Read with the Reds' program, in which UNB student-athletes visited over 25 classrooms in the Fredericton community, reading to more than 600 students.
Katie is also the co-president of UNB's Athletes Council and spends her off days refereeing youth basketball.
"Katie is an excellent student-athlete who has excelled in the classroom, on the court, and in serving our communities. Ever since Katie Butts arrived on campus at UNB, she has provided youth with more opportunities to fall in love with the game of basketball," said Reds head coach, Erin McAleenan. "Katie cares about making our community better and it is an honour for her to be recognized for her contributions.
Butts joins Mikaela Dodig (2019-20), Melissa Foster (2011-12), Amanda Sharp (2010-11) and Emily Murphy (2005-06) as Reds who have also won this award, and now becomes the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Sylvia Sweeney Award.
STFX's Aliyah Fraser was the last AUS student-athlete to earn the national honour, doing so just last season.
TRACY MACLEOD AWARD: Avery Walker, STFX X-Women
Avery Walker of the STFX X-Women is the 2023-24 nominee for the U SPORTS Tracy MacLeod Award. This award is given to a women's basketball player who demonstrates determination, perseverance, and unwavering spirit to continue playing the game of basketball.
Walker arrived at STFX in the fall of 2020 and saw her first year of eligibility halted by COVID, while a promising start to her second year was stopped in its tracks by a season-ending rupture of her ACL.
After working diligently to return to the court in her third year, her season was again cut short – this time by an elbow injury that happened after playing just three exhibition games.
As a fourth-year having played just one regular season game in her AUS career, a fully-healthy Walker returned to the court this season and has been a reliable presence on both offense and defense for the X-Women.
She played in 17 games this season, averaging more than 10 minutes played per game and shooting 37.8% from the field.
"Avery has demonstrated tremendous resilience, an enduring passion for the game of basketball, and a champion's spirit in overcoming a number of setbacks during her time with the X-Women basketball program," said X-Women head coach Matt Spencer. "Seeing her finally have a chance to shine on the court has been an inspiration to her team and to all the student-athletes at STFX. We could not be more proud of Avery for her unwavering dedication to the program, to self-improvement, and to the dream of getting to play U SPORTS basketball."
This marks the first time a STFX player has been nominated for the Tracy MacLeod award.
Acadia's Lanae Adams (2018-19) was the last AUS student-athlete to win the national award.
COACH OF THE YEAR (Dr. Carolyn Savoy Award): Scott Munro, SMU Huskies
For the fourth time, Saint Mary's Huskies women's basketball head coach Scott Munro has been named the AUS Coach of the Year.
The recipient of the Dr. Carolyn Savoy Memorial Award in 2012-13, 2015-16 and 2016-17, Munro led his Huskies to league-best 17-3 record and a first-round bye into the semifinals of the AUS playoffs.
Saint Mary's captured the AUS title last season and have their sights set on remaining the league champs. If so, they would become the first team to repeat as AUS Women's Basketball champions since Acadia did so in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
SMU led the conference in points for (1,566) while also allowing the fewest (1,233).
Munro now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS Coach of the Year award. He is also the most recent AUS coach to win the national award, taking home the honour in 2012-13.
2023-24 FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
First Team All Stars
Jayda Veinot, UNB, (5th year – Port Williams, N.S.)
Elizabeth Iseyemi, Acadia, (4th year – Dartmouth, N.S.)
Alaina McMillan, Saint Mary's, (5th year – Brantford, Ont.)
Kiyara Letlow, Cape Breton, (3rd year – Toronto, Ont.)
Alana Short, Memorial, (5th year – Barrie, Ont.)
Second Team All Stars
Courtney Donaldson, Saint Mary's, (5th year – Kelowna, B.C.)
Lauren Rainford, UPEI, (4th year – Toronto, Ont.)
Samantha Russell, Acadia, (3rd year – Dartmouth, N.S.)
Ekaterina Karchevskaya, StFX, (4th year – Mogilev, BY)
Lucina Beaumont, Saint Mary's, (4th year – Fredericton, N.B.)
All Rookie Team
Kaitlyn Ferrier, Dalhousie, (Calgary, Alta.)
Shannon Neita, StFX, (Toronto, Ont.)
Simona Matic, Dalhousie (Belgrade, Serbia)
Lily Vrugteman, UPEI, (Cambridge, Ont.)
Maheva Ngassam, UNB, (Saint Hubert, Que.)
The 2024 AUS Basketball Championships presented by Bell and G Series will be hosted at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, February 23-25.
For more information on tickets, standings and the full event schedule, visit aushoops.ca.