From University of Rochester Athletics
Alexandra Leslie, junior center for the women's basketball team at the University of Rochester, has been named a D3hoops.com Second Team All-American for the 2016-17 season. It is her second All-America honor in the past three days and the sixth time she has been named an All-American in her sophomore and junior seasons.
On Thursday, Leslie was named a First Team All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The WBCA picks a 10-player group as First Team All-Americans and selects 30 more individuals on an Honorable Mention basis. D3hoops.com selects four teams of five players each plus a five-person grouping of Honorable Mention All-Americans. D3hoops.com is the largest source of information on Division III basketball.
Before the 2016-17 year began, Leslie was named a pre-season First Team All-American by D3hoops.com. Last year, she was named a First Team All-American by D3hoops.com, a Third Team All-American by DIIINews, and Honorable Mention All-America by the WBCA.
This is her sixth post-season honor since the end of the 2016-17 season. She was named First Team All-University Athletic Association (her third such accolade from the UAA), First Team ECAC North, D3hoops.com East Region Player of the Year (for the second straight year), and First Team D3hoops.com All-East Region in addition to the WBCA All-America honor.
Additionally, she was a finalist for the Josten's Trophy, given by the Rotary Club of Salem, Virginia for a combination of athletic skill, academic achievement, and community service. She was named to the UAA All-Academic Team and earned First Team Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America.
In 27 games, she averaged 21.9 points per game, shooting 56.5% from the floor (225-398), 30% outside the arc (3-10), and 83.5% from the foul line (137-164). She averaged 9.7 rebounds per game, had 56 assists (second overall), 44 blocked shots, and 19 steals. In the final Division III statistics issued by the NCAA, Leslie finished 14th in scoring average and 21st in field goal percentage.
She scored 20 or more points in a game 17 times in 29 games. She cleared the 30-point barrier twice – a career high 33 points (plus 11 rebounds) in a 74-59 season-opening home court victory over William Smith College on November 15, and a 31-point, 15-rebound performance against Emory University in the first UAA game of the year (84-75 Rochester on January 7 at home). She had 12 double-doubles this season.
She was named the UAA Player of the Week four times and was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week once.
On December 10, in a 73-67 loss to Ithaca College, Leslie cracked the 1,000-point career barrier. She became the 11th Rochester women's player to score 1,000 or more points in a career and was also the second fastest player to do it. Leslie did it in her 62nd game, surpassing Kristan Radak who reached 1,000 points in her 63rd game. Women's basketball at Rochester just completed its 46th year.
She made a rapid ascent in the Rochester career scoring category. At the end of the 2016-17 season, she had 1,421 points and stood in third place all-time behind Radak (1981-85, 1,747 pts.) and Jody Lavin (1978-82, 2,094 pts.).
With the exception of statistical averages (points per game, defensive rebound average, etc.) and percentages, Leslie is ranked in the top 10 in nine career categories: free throws made (second, 390), points (third, 1,421), free throws attempted (third, 460), field goals made (fourth, 513), defensive rebounds (fourth, 563), blocked shots (fifth, 94), total rebounds (sixth, 766), and field goals attempted (1,007).
Rochester finished the regular season with a 17-8 overall record. The Yellowjackets were 8-6 in the UAA. They finished third in the conference race (8-6), but one of the victories was over league champion Washington University (12-2).
Three UAA teams were selected for the NCAA Division III playoffs: Washington, the University of Chicago, and Rochester. In the first round, Rochester defeated Keene State College of New Hampshire, 67-55, in a four-team pod at SUNY Geneseo. In round two, Geneseo defeated Rochester, 78-72. The Yellowjackets finished 18-9.
In addition to Leslie, two other UAA players earned All-America honors from D3hoops.com this year. Lisa Murphy of Carnegie Mellon was a First Team honoree. Madeline Homoly of Washington University was named to the Fourth Team.