Ama Biney of Southington, Conn., Tabbed NEWMAC Women's Basketball All-Conference

2017 Mar 11

Ama Biney drew praise from the NEWMAC women's basketball coaches following the regular season.

Junior Ama Biney was named a repeat All-NEWMAC First Team selection and the inaugural NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year while senior Priscilla Dunphy was placed on the second team.

Biney entered last week ranked 20th in steals and 24th in steals per game among her Division III peers. Following the conference tournament, the local product leads the NEWMAC overall in steals (93) while ranking second in free throw percentage (79.1%), second in points (415), fourth in field goals (165) and fourth in points per game (14.8). Over the span of 16 conference games, Biney led the way in steals (47) and free throw percentage (80.4%), as well as fifth in field goals (85), seventh in points (216) and eighth in points per game (13.5). The team leader in scoring and rebounding handed in a career-high 28 versus RPI and a season-best in NEWMAC games with 22 at Wellesley.

A double-digit scorer in 24 of 28 games, including the last eight, Biney garnered two NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week selections and three NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week nods, including the first-ever to be awarded by the conference. The repeat CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree was named MVP of the Worcester City Tournament, WPI Thanksgiving Classic and WPI Holiday Tournament. In the final week of the season, Biney dropped 18 points in the NEWMAC first round versus Coast Guard and semifinal against Clark.

Dunphy ranked first overall (41.9%) and in conference games (49.0%) in 3-point field goal percentage. The senior was also top 10 in 3-pointers (fifth all, seventh NEWMAC), minutes played (sixth all, ninth NEWMAC) and steals (ninth NEWMAC). She also led WPI in 3-pointers per game and free throw percentage and was second on team in scoring and rebounding, as well as third in steals. The WPI Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team honoree achieved double-digit scoring in 17 contests. At the end of Saturday's NEWMAC semifinal, Dunphy was key with a layup, steal and a free throw to help lift third-seeded WPI to its second NEWMAC Women's Basketball Championship game in as many years.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Projects Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.