Goncalves Named MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year
SALEM, Mass. - For the second straight season, Salem State women's basketball forward Ernidia Goncalves (Everett, Mass.) was named the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Defensive Player of the Year while also earning a spot on MASCAC All-Conference First Team. She becomes the first Viking in program history to have won back-to-back MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors based upon available data. In her career with Salem, Goncalves has earned All-Conference honors each season and was All-Conference First Team for the second time in her tenure with the Blue and Orange.
The senior forward led the league in rebounding for the third straight year, averaging 11.5 and 99 steals. She also tallied 203 defensive rebounds and 24 blocks while averaging 14.7 points per game. She sits in 14th nationally with 3.81 steals per game and 21st nationally with 16 double-doubles on the year. Goncalves also finished her career with 56 double-doubles. She was named MASCAC Player of the Week for the week of February 9. She averaged 19 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals, and 1.5 assists with shooting 57.7 percent (15-26) from the floor in a 2-0 week for the Vikings with wins over Fitchburg State (Feb. 11) and at Worcester State (Feb. 14).