Boston, MA- This year's A.I.I. All-Conference awards were announced Thursday evening at the banquet to kick off the A.I.I. Championship Tournament which is set to start this afternoon. The Falcons were honored with three awards in the presentation as senior Jocelyn Mendoza was honored with the Champions of Character Award and juniors Kellie Gaston and Vivian Lara both earning All-Conference Honors. Vivian Lara not only received First-Team All-Conference honors, but she was chosen as the conference's Co-Defensive Player Of The Year for her tremendous play all season. Gaston rounded out the honors with an Honorable Mention nomination.
Lara, a native of Norwalk, CA, has led the Falcons in numerous categories througout the season helping her team to a school-best 19-10 regular season record. She finished up the regular season last week with her sixth double-double of the season notching 25 points and 10 rebounds. She finished the regular season averaging 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, both team highs. She had a season high of 37 points against Rivier University and earned seven steals in two separate games this season. Lara also leads the team in steals (75) and assists (73) and is 15th in the NAIA for total steals, good for 4th in the A.I.I, helping her seal her choice for Co-Defensive Player Of The Year.
Gaston, a guard from Tampa, FL, was chosen for Honorable Mention honors for her play this season. Gaston was second on the Fisher squad in scoring finishing the regular season averaging 13.8 points per game (400 total points), and finished with 20+ points in seven different games this season. She also led the team in blocks (15) and was second in steals (42) and was one rebound shy of earning her first double-double as a Falcon against University of Saint Joseph as she finished with 15 points and nine boards in the win.
Mendoza, a senior from Morgan Hill, CA, was nominated by Coach Jesse Ford for the Champions of Character Award. This award is presented to a student-athlete that best display exemplary character and sportsmanship on the field/court, on campus and in the community that exemplify the five core values of the Champions of Character program - Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership. As a captain she was integral in the team's success both on and off the court and she will be missed as she will be graduating this spring with a degree in Criminal Justice.
All three players will look to continue their success as they seek their first ever A.I.I. Conference title with their Quarterfinals matchup against Wilberforce set to begin Friday evening at 6:30pm.
For a full release from the A.I.I. click here.