Women's Basketball
Cooper, Beyruti Earn NJAC First-Team Honors
POMONA, N.J. (2/27/08) - Senior center Chari'
Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.) and junior guard Melissa
Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) earned New Jersey Athletic
Conference First-Team all-star honors, as voted on by the league's
head coaches and announced by the conference on Wednesday morning.
Junior Ebony Jackson (Newark, N.J.) garnered second-team honors, while sophomore guard Cardiss Jackman (Tobyhanna, Pa.) earned honorable mention honors.
The only player to have earned honors all four years on this year's all-conference squad, Cooper (pictured right) earned first-team accolades for the first time after being a second-team all-star her first three seasons.
The 2005 NJAC Rookie of the Year, Cooper leads the conference in
rebounding (14.2 per game) for the fourth straight season.
Her 1,439 career boards rank third all-time in NCAA Division III
history and sit just outside of the top 15 among all divisions in
NCAA history.
A two-time first-team selection, Beyruti (pictured left) leads the NJAC in scoring (18.1 points per game) and three-point field goals made (3.12 per game). Her school-record 254 career three-pointers are 21st in NCAA Division III history, while her 1,330 points are fourth in school history and just 20 points away from moving into third place. The 2006 NJAC Rookie of the Year, Beyruti earned her third straight all-conference nod after also earning honorable mention honors as a freshman.
Jackson (pictured right) earns second-team honors for the second
straight year after averaging 10.2 points and a league-best 6.5
assists per game. A three-year starter, Jackson also has a
team-high 67 steals to rank third in the 
NJAC, while her 1.83 assist-to-turnover ratio leads the
conference.
Earning all-conference recognition for the first time in her career, Jackman is second on the team in scoring (12.5 points per game) and three-pointers (30) and has added 42 assists and 27 steals this year.
In a rematch of last year's NJAC title game, the Cougars travel to William Paterson University this evening, Wednesday, February 27, this time for the right to advance to the championship. In last year's NJAC championship, the Beyruti knocked down a three-pointer as time expired to give the Cougars a 72-69 victory on the Pioneers' home court.
The Cougars are ranked 12th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and tied for 13th in the USA Today ESPN Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll, falling out of the top 10 for the first time in five weeks after dropping their regular season finale against Rowan University, 78-75. Kean is also ranked third in the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region rankings.
In the most recent NCAA statistical rankings, the team and several Cougars players are ranked in numerous categories. As a team, Kean is ranked first in the nation in both scoring offense (86.0) and rebound margin (14.4), while also ranking second in scoring margin (30.4). The Cougars also rank fourth in steals (16.5) and 12th in assists (17.6).
Other team rankings have Kean tied 16th in winning percentage (.880), tied for 17th in blocked shots per game (5.1), 20th in field goal percentage (.444), 50th in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.88), 41st in field goal percentage defense (.345) and 58th in scoring defense (55.6).
Cooper moved up to second in the country in rebounds per game in the most recent rankings, while Beyruti is currently fifth in three point field goals made after leading the country in that category last season. She also ranks 40th in scoring and 41st in three-point field goal percentage.
Jackson is ranked in a pair of categories, currently tied for ningth in assists per game and 28th in assist-to-turnover ration. The three-year starter at point guards has 450 career assists and is just 16 assists away from becoming the program's all-time leader.