Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Release
HAVERFORD, Pa. – Haverford College women's basketball junior forward Sierra Berkel was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer's 2016-17 Women's Basketball Academic All-area team, the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors Association (Philly-SIDA), announced in a release on Wednesday.
The honor represents the first time that a member of the Haverford women's basketball team has been selected for the award.
In order to be eligible for Academic All-Area honors, an athlete must be in at least his or her second year at the institution and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better. The team is voted on by the sports information offices of 30 four-year institutions from the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
In March, Berkel became Haverford's first Centennial Conference First-team selection since Jacquelyne Pizzuto (2014-15). Berkel joins Pizzuto, Nina Voith and Claudette Pirwitz as the only Fords to garner selection to the conference 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.
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.
Drexel's Meghan Creighton was named the 2016-17 academic all-area team's performer of the year.