BOSTON, Mass. – The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) has announced its weekly award winners and Mount Holyoke College student-athlete Amber Legare has been selected. The senior captain was named the Player of the Week in women's basketball after reaching a major milestone while also sealing a last-second shot for victory.
A forward out of Chicopee, Mass., Legare scored the game-winning shot with just one second left, and became just the 12th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points, as the Lyons defeated MCLA by a 50-49 margin in their only contest last week.
Posting a game-best 20 points, including 14 in the second half alone, Legare etched her name into the history books at the 13:31 mark of the second half with her 1,000th point. She also added 11 rebounds, three steals and an assist in MHC's victory.
Through nine games, Legare ranks second on the team with 15.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest. She has added 16 assists, 10 steals and 13 blocks, while averaging 37.4 minutes per game. Among the NEWMAC's best, Legare is fourth in points per game and fifth in boards per contest. Overall, she ranks second in the conference in overall rebounds with 90, including a conference-high 35 offensive boards.
Legare has posted 10 points or more in all nine games this season, recording six double-doubles overall. Additionally, she has posted five straight double-doubles dating back to a November 23rd loss to Farmingdale State.
The former Chicopee Comprehensive High School standout now has 1,009 career points with 718 rebounds over an 81 game span in her career. Last season, Legare averaged 14.7 points and a conference-best 11.2 rebounds per contests as a starter in 24 of 25 games for the Lyons. A NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team selection, she also chipped in with 28 assists, 30 blocks and 38 steals, while averaging 34.0 minutes per contest. Legare shot a team-high 60.7% (68-112) from free throw range and also had a squad-best 40.9% (149-364) mark from the field.
As a sophomore, Legare averaged 11.6 points with a team-best 7.4 rebounds and 25 blocks. A starter in all 24 games, she also had 24 assists and 17 steals. During her rookie campaign, she averaged 9.7 points with a team-best 7.3 rebounds, also contributing 19 assists and team-bests in blocks and steals with 38 and 36, respectively.
Mount Holyoke (2-7; 0-1 NEWMAC) returns to action on January 3 when it competes at Wheaton at 1pm in a battle of the Lyons. MHC resumes its home schedule against Clark on January 7th at 7pm.
