HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team garnered three All-Conference team selections, the Centennial Conference office announced on Wednesday morning. Junior co-captain Sierra Berkel was named First-team All-Centennial while sophomore Macy Goldbach picked up Second-team All-Centennial honors. Junior co-captain Samantha Wetzel was named an honorable mention. Senior co-captain Clio Bodie was named to the All-Sportsmanship team.
Berkel is Haverford's first First-team selection since Jacquelyne Pizzuto (2014-15) and joins Pizzuto, Nina Voith and Claudette Pirwitz as the only Fords to garner selection to the first team.
Berkel led the Fords in scoring (12.5 pgg) and rebounding (8.6 ppg) for a second straight season. The marks ranked ninth and fourth in the conference, respectively. Berkel was second in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting an ultra-efficient 49.8 from the field during the 2016-17 season.
Berkel tallied six double-doubles during the season, including a 20-point, 16-rebound performance in a win at McDaniel (Jan. 12) that highlighted a week in which she averaged 17.0 points and 10.3 rebounds while shooting 63.6 percent from the floor, helping Haverford to a 3-0 record and garnering Centennial Conference Player of the Week honors in the process.
At the end of her junior campaign, Berkel sits in sixth in Haverford history in rebounds (632) and 10th in points (831). Her career field goal percentage of .512 is tops in program history. The Flushing, N.Y. product adds the plaudit to a second-team selection a season ago.
Goldbach had a stellar sophomore campaign for Haverford, averaging 11.8 points per game while sinking 53 field goals from beyond the arc. The 53 made three-pointers in 2016-17 is the second most in program history.
Goldbach poured in a career-best 21 points in early non-conference action against Stevens (Dec. 3), knocking down four three-pointers in the win. Goldbach was later named Player of the Week earlier this month, picking up the plaudit on February 13 after averaging 19.7 points per game and shooting 51.2 percent from the field as the Fords went 3-0 and clinched the top seed in the Centennial Conference tournament.
The sophomore eclipsed her career-high with a 21 point effort in a win at Muhlenberg (Feb. 7) draining five shots from beyond the arc as Haverford withstood a comeback attempt from the Mules to take over sole possession of first place. On February 9 against Johns Hopkins, Goldbach again set a career high, chipping in 23 points while again matching the five three-pointer effort.
Wetzel was a force inside the paint for Haverford all season. She tallied 10 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game, recording a double-double on seven occasions. The junior pulled down a career-best 23 rebounds in an overtime triumph over William Paterson on November 20. A defensive game-changer, Wetzel's 3.0 blocks per game was second in the conference and her 78 blocked shots this season is the most in a single season in Haverford history.
Wetzel took over the career blocked shots lead at home against Bryn Mawr (Jan. 24) and extended her career-lead to 188. At the end of her junior season, Wetzel is also 14th in program history in rebounds (528) and 18th in points (662). This is the second straight honorable mention accolade for the Sicklerville, N.J. product.
Haverford posted its second most wins in program history (19) in 2016-17 and took the top seed in the Centennial Conference tournament for just the second time, hosting the conference postseason tournament at Gooding '84 Arena. Berkel, Goldbach and Wetzel will all return for the 2017-18 season.
The Fords will now await the release of various All-Region honors, expected later this month.