Women's Basketball | 2/21/2024 2:40:00 PM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2024 All-Conference honors in women's basketball on Wednesday, Feb. 21. This year's award, voted on by the conference's coaches, honored four members of the St. John Fisher University Cardinals, including a Player of the Year award for junior guard Sidney Tomasso and a Co-Rookie of the Year honor for freshman forward Joleen Lusk. 
 
First Team and Player of the Year
Junior Sidney Tomasso won the conference's Player of the Year award as well as a place on the All-Conference first team with a season that saw her win Empire 8 Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors three times. Playing and starting in 22 of the team's 25 games, the Waverly native finished first on the team in points per game (16.0, second-best in the conference) and second in overall points (351). She was third in the conference in free-throw percentage (.785) and finished the regular season in eighth in the conference in rebounds per game (6.9) and field goal percentage (.423).
 
Tomasso is the first Cardinal to win overall Player of the Year in the Empire 8 since Melissa Hartman won the honor in the 2005-06 season. This is Tomasso's second-straight selection to the All-Conference first team. 
 
First Team and Co-Rookie of the Year
Freshman Joleen Lusk made an immediate impact in her first year of collegiate hoops, sharing the conference's Rookie of the Year Award with Nazareth's Vanessa Hall while earning a place on the All-Conference first team. The 6'2'' forward won E8 Rookie of the Week honors on five different occasions this season, and leads the team in overall points (363). She finished the regular season fourth in the conference in points per game (14.7) and field goal percentage (.464). She twice scored 26 points in a game- a season high for the Cardinals. Defensively, she led the Empire 8 in rebounds per game (9.6) and was third in blocks per game (1.6). 
 
Lusk is the first Cardinal to win Rookie of the Year since her teammate, Claire Kruszka, took home the honor in the 2020-21 season. 
 
Second Team
The aforementioned Claire Kruszka earned All-Conference honors for the fourth consecutive season, including her third time on the All-Conference second team. The senior guard led the entire Empire 8 in steals with 71 overall and 2.7 per game. She also finished the regular season tied for second in overall assists (79) and third in assists-per-game (3.0). One of the best at avoiding turnovers, her 1.9 assist/turnover ratio was best in the conference. 
 
Kruszka also finished in the top 10 in free throw percentage (.726) and three-pointers per game (1.7). She earned Empire 8 Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors on Jan. 16. 
 
Sportswoman of the Year
Junior guard Emily McLaughlin earned Fisher's spot for Sportswoman of the Year. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. Emily and the honorees from other teams have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
 
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