Emily Joseph - GLIAC Player of the Year
BAY CITY – Lake Superior State senior guard Emily Joseph is the 2011 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Joseph guided LSSU’s offense with scoring and passing, earning GLIAC Player of the Week honors twice this season. She ranked third in the GLIAC in scoring at 16.5 points per game, and ranked fourth in the league in average assists per game (4.8) and three-point field goal percentage (.451).
The Sterling Heights, Mich., native is the third LSSU women’s basketball player to earn the GLIAC’s top honor. She joins a short list that includes Vicki Hill (1989) and Alice Duesing (2003).
“I'm extremely excited for Emily,” LSSU coach Jamie Pewinski said. “The award is well-deserved and honors her for all the work that she has put in throughout her career. Her career didn't end the way we had hoped, but this award acknowledges the year that Emily had and what a huge part of our team she was. It will be extremely difficult to replace everything she was to our team, on and off the court. It's great that the other coaches in the conference felt she deserved the recognition of this award.”
From Dec. 11 through Jan. 13, Joseph strung together five straight outings of 20 or more points. She averaged 22.0 points per game during a stretch from Dec. 2 through Jan. 15. She totaled five or more assists in 12 GLIAC contests. For the season, she led the Lakers in steals with 49.
The four-year starter scored 1,183 career points, finished second on LSSU’s all-time assist list with 440, fourth in career free-throw percentage (361-449, .805) and sixth in career three-point field goals with 134. She is a three-time GLIAC All-Academic selection.
Joseph is also one of only three Laker women to finish among the top 15 in career scoring and top 10 in assists. The other two are Randi Johnson (2005) and Linda Thompson (1984).
Joseph was coached by her father, Matt, at Henry Ford II High School before playing for Pewinski at LSSU.
“He was an amazing coach,” she said. “He taught me everything I know. I wouldn’t be here without him. He coached me in rec ball and AAU too. He pushed me to be the player I am.”
Matt Joseph, who played college baseball at Toledo, made his daughter suffer through a numerous game film sessions, but was easy to talk to.
“He just gives me good perspective,” the Laker captain said. “He knows as a coach and a college player. He knows the right thing to say…Leadership – I got that from him. He was always pushing me to be a leader, calling me out if I did the wrong thing and telling me if I did the right thing.”
The All-GLIAC North Division First Team also includes Michigan Tech’s Lucy Dernovsek, Grand Valley State’s Alex Stelfox and Briauna Taylor, and Northwood’s Pam Wilson. The South Division First Team includes Findlay’s Laura Bardall, Ashland’s Daiva Gerbec and Jena Stutzman, Hillsdale’s Chelsea Harrison, and Tiffin’s Mandy Jaeb.
LSSU sophomore forward Maria Blazejewski (Beaulah, Mich.) was named to the All-GLIAC North Division Second Team, and senior guard Ronlea Peterson (Midland, Mich.) earned her second straight GLIAC North Division All-Defensive Team honor.
Blazejewski averaged 13.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, and led the Lakers in blocked shots. Peterson averaged 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and totaled 34 steals. Against GLIAC competition, she led in the league in assist/turnover ratio (2.8) and ranked 12th in three-point field-goal percentage (.390).
Northwood’s Brittany Gibson was named GLIAC Freshman of the Year, and Michigan Tech first-year coach Kim Cameron received coach of the year honors.
