Women's Basketball

Beyruti, Cooper Earn D3hoops.com Honors

UNION, N.J. (3/20/08) - Junior Melissa Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) and senior Chari' Cooper (Paulsboro, N.J.) were both named to the D3hoops.com Atlantic Region All-Star teams, as announced by D3hoops.com on Wednesday.

Both players earned the honor for the second time in their careers, as Beyruti earned first-team honors and Cooper was tabbed a second-team all-star after leading the Cougars to the Elite Eight for the second straight year and a school record 28 wins this season.

Beyruti and Cooper were also named New Jersey Athletic Conference first-team all-stars and finalists for the 2008 State Farm Coaches' All-America Basketball Team, as announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. 

A two-time first-team NJAC all-star, Beyruti (pictured left) led the conference in both scoring (19.0) and three-point field goals made (108/3.4).  The 5-8 guard ranked 28^th in the nation in scoring, and for the second straight year she led the nation in three point field goals made, as her 108 three-pointers was the seventh highest total all-time in NCAA Division III history. 

Beyruti had 110 three-pointers a year ago, tied for the fifth highest total all-time, and her 281 career three-pointers rank 14^th in NCAA Division III career history. 

This season, Beyruti became the 14^th player in program history to score 1,000 career points and her 1,468 career points broke the all-time record of 1,417 points held by Jaquana Abdullah (1999-2003). 

Cooper (pictured right) has left her name near the top of the Kean and NCAA record books after becoming just the third player in school history to score 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. 

A four-time NJAC all-star, the 6-2 center closed out her career with 1,519 career rebounds, the third highest total in NCAA Division III history and tied for 10^th all-time among NCAA all-divisions history. 

Cooper led the NJAC in rebounding for four straight years, averaging 14.1 rebounds this season to rank third in the nation.  Her 450 rebounds this season shattered her own school record and rank 14^th in NCAA Division III single season history.

This season, Cooper averaged 11.6 points a game to rank third on the team and became the 15^th player in program history to score 1,000 career points.  She finished her career with 1,231 career points to rank sixth in program history.

The Cougars won the NJAC title for the second straight year and advanced to the NCAA Division III Sectional Final before closing out the season with a 98-86 loss to Oglethorpe University.