(Sydney, NS) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2019-20 AUS women's & men's basketball all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's eight head coaches following regular season play.

Hailey MacLeod (Marion Bridge, NS) was named the AUS Rookie of the Year and a member of the All-Rookie Team. Also receiving honours from the women's basketball program were MacKenzee Ryan (Glace Bay, NS) who was named a 1st-Team All-star and Monique Calliste (Toronto, ON) who was named a 2nd-Team All-star. Ryan, a third-year guard for the CAPERS finished 6th in league scoring averaging 17.6 points per game and led the league with 4.5 assists per game. Calliste, a 4th-year guard was 7th in league scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game. Calliste was also 8th in the league with 6.4 rebounds per game. 

On the men's side, Osman Omar (Mississauga, ON) was named a 2nd-Team All-star and Cooper Ward (Ipswich, AUS) was named to the All-Rookie team. Omar, a third-year guard led the league in scoring averaging 20.6 points. Ward, a skilled big man averaged 8.8 points per game to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Hailey MacLeod, Cape Breton Capers

Hailey MacLeod of the Cape Breton Capers is the AUS women's basketball rookie of the year. A five-foot-11 forward from Marion Bridge, N.S., MacLeod made an immediate impact with the Capers this season, starting in eight games and playing in all 20. She boasted the second-best field goal percentage in the conference (50.8) and averaged 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season. In a Feb. 8 game versus Saint Mary's, MacLeod posted a career-high 31 points and 12 rebounds. Along with being honoured as the conference's top rookie, she also earned a place on the AUS all-rookie team. She is the fifth player from the Capers to earn the honour as the conference's top rookie. Former Cape Breton winners include Alison Keough (2013-14), Colleen Keane (2012-13), Amanda Fisher (1998-99) and Janice Moseychuck (1994-95). MacLeod will now represent the conference as the AUS nominee for the Kathy Shields Award for U SPORTS rookie of the year.

Alison Keough is the only player from the Capers to ever win the national rookie of the year award.

Full-List of Award Winners

AUS Women's Basketball Major Award Winners:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jenna Mae Ellsworth, UPEI Panthers

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Hailey MacLeod, Cape Breton Capers

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jenna Mae Ellsworth, UPEI Panthers

TRACY MACLEOD AWARD NOMINEE: Kelsey Rice, Acadia Axewomen

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Mikaela Dodig, UNB Reds

DR. CAROLYN SAVOY AWARD (AUS COACH OF THE YEAR): Mark English, Memorial Sea-Hawks

FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

First Team All-Stars
Jenna Mae Ellsworth, UPEI (4^th year – Charlottetown, P.E.I.)

Haille Nickerson, Memorial (5^th year – Grimsby, Ont.)
Haley McDonald, Acadia Axewomen (4^th year – Port Williams, N.S.)
Reese Baxendale, UPEI (3^rd year – Sussex, N.B.)
MacKenzee Ryan, Cape Breton (3^rd year – Glace Bay, N.S.)

Second Team All-Stars
Jayda Veinot, Acadia Axewomen (2^nd year – Port Williams, N.S.)
Mikaela Dodig, UNB Reds (4^th year – Bolton, Ont.)
Alaina McMillan, Saint Mary's (2^nd year – Brantford, Ont.)
Alana Short, Memorial (2^nd year – Barrie, Ont.)

Monique Calliste – Cape Breton Capers (4^th year – Toronto, Ont.)

All-Rookie Team:

Hailey MacLeod, Cape Breton (Marion Bridge, N.S.)

Aliyah Fraser, StFX (New Glasgow, N.S.)

Lucina Beaumont, Saint Mary's (Fredericton, N.B.)

Chloe Wilson, Dalhousie (Dartmouth, N.S.)

Lauren Rainford, UPEI (Toronto, Ont.)

AUS Men's Basketball Major Award Winners:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Keevan Veinot, Dalhousie Tigers
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Avan Nava, StFX X-Men
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Xavier Ochu, Dalhousie Tigers 
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Forest Mahoney, Acadia Axemen
COACH OF THE YEAR: Rick Plato, Dalhousie Tigers

FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

First Team All-Stars       

Keevan Veinot, Dalhousie Tigers (3^rd year – Port Williams, N.S.)
Azaro Roker, StFX (4^th year – Nassau, Bahamas)

Ibrahima Doumbouya, UNB Reds (3^rd year – Calgary, Alta.)

Johneil Johnson, Saint Mary's Huskies (3^rd year – Lake Echo, N.S.)
Cole Long, Memorial Sea-Hawks (4^th year – St. John's, N.L.)

Second Team All-Stars

Osman Omar, Cape Breton Capers (3^rd year – Mississauga, Ont.)
Alex Carson, Dalhousie Tigers (4^th year – Lower Sackville, N.S.)

Chris Spurrell, UNB Reds (4^th year – Quispamsis, N.B.)

Avan Nava, StFX X-Men (1^st year – Mississauga, Ont.)
Qyemah Gibson, Saint Mary's (2^nd year – Nassau, Bahamas)

All-Rookie Team

Avan Nava, StFX X-Men (Mississauga, Ont.)
Elijah Miller, UPEI (Etobicoke, Ont.)
Marcus Masters, UNB (Kitchener, Ont.)
Cooper Ward, Cape Breton (Ipswich, Australia)
Matur Maluach, UNB (Sydney, Australia)

The 2020 Subway AUS Basketball Championships will be hosted at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S., Feb. 28 to March 1, 2020.   

The women's and men's schedules have been blended this season. Each doubleheader will feature one women's game and one men's game. 

The championship schedule is as follows: (seeding in brackets)

Friday, Feb. 28

Doubleheader #1

Women's Quarterfinal #1: Cape Breton (5^th) vs. UNB (4^th) – 1 p.m.

Men's Quarterfinal #1: Memorial (5^th) vs. Saint Mary's (4^th) – 3 p.m.

Doubleheader #2

Women's Quarterfinal #2: Saint Mary's (6^th) vs. Memorial (3^rd) – 6:30 p.m.

Men's Quarterfinal #2: Cape Breton (6^th) vs. UNB (3^rd) – 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 29

Doubleheader #3

Women's Semifinal #1: Winner of QF1 vs. UPEI (1^st) – 1 p.m.

Men's Semifinal #1: Winner of QF1 vs. Dalhousie (1^st) – 3 p.m.

Doubleheader #4

Women's Semifinal #2: Winner of QF2 vs. Acadia (2^nd) – 6:30 p.m.

Men's Semifinal #2: Winner of QF2 vs. StFX (2^nd) – 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 1

Doubleheader #5

Women's Championship Game: Winner of SF1 vs. Winner of SF2 – 1 p.m.

Men's Championship Game: Winner of SF1 vs. Winner of SF2 – 4 p.m.

Final AUS women's standings: http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/wbkb/2019-20/standings

All games of championship will be broadcast live Bell Alliant's Fibe TV1 (channel 1) and available via webcast at www.AUStv.ca.

For more information on the 2020 Subway AUS Basketball Championships, visit the event website at: www.AUSHoops.ca. Single session tickets are now available through Ticket Atlantic.

The AUS champions will advance to the 2020 U SPORTS men's and women's basketball championships, being jointly hosted by the University of Ottawa and Carleton University March 6-8 in Ottawa, Ont. Only the AUS conference champions are guaranteed a berth at their respective national championships.  

For more information about the U SPORTS championship, please visit https://usports.ca/en/championships/final-8/f/info.

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