Decesare named to All-Rookie team

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Jayme DeCesare has logged a lot of miles playing basketball.

Since her younger years at St. Rocco’s School until her first-ever season at the NCAA’s highly-competitive Division I level, the Johnston resident has always been at the head of her class.

This week, though, the daughter of David and Joann Decesare achieved her highest hoop honor ever when the 5-foot-5 Merrimack College point guard was selected as one of the five best freshmen basketball players in the 11-team Northeast Conference.

The headline on the Warriors website read: “Women’s basketball takes home a litany of NEC Awards,”

While Merrimack’s super senior Denia Davis-Stewart was named the NEC’s Player and Defensive Player of the Year, sophomore Kate Mager landed third team All-Conference honors with DeCesare – who led La Salle Academy to state championships in three of her four years on Smith Hill – landed a spot on the prestigious All-Rookie Team.

All of which reinforces the value – and talent – Merrimack Head Monique LeBlanc saw in DeCesare when she recruited the former All-Stater for the Warriors first-ever season in Division I and who she started in all 29 games during the 2019-20 season en route to an impressive 20-9 overall record.

DeCesare ran the point for Merrimack, which the Warriors publicist Nicholas Penkala said is expected to continue play in the postseason this month despite not being eligible for the NCAA Tournament in this, the school’s first year as a Division I team.

She was the only Merrimack freshman to start all 29 games and led the NEC in assist/turnover ratio with 87 assists to just 49 turnovers. She averaged 9.2 points per game and scored in double figures 16 times during her first season in Division I women’s basketball.

DeCesare had a season-high 19 points in Merrimack’s 80-54 victory over St. Francis of Brooklyn on Feb. 3 and canned 18 points on Jan. 8 in the Warriors impressive 78-66 triumph vs. Bryant University. She scored 41 three-point baskets and was 41 of 57 from the foul line. Defensively, she came up with 29 steals.

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