HIGH 5 OF THE WEEK: Brianna Root earns Second Team All-East Region honor

Root (Post University athletics)

Brianna Root, Post University women’s volleyball
The sophomore has had another terrific season with the Eagles, and the postseason accolades have already been coming in, even with the NCAA Tournament still to play.
The former Bristol Eastern standout earned Second Team All-East Region honors from the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association. The selection is the first by Root, who has received honors in both seasons from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
Root led the CACC in assists per set and was second in total assists. She made First Team All-CACC for the second straight season.
Post was scheduled to play Daemen College in the NCAA Tournament in Amherst, NY, on Thursday.

After
coming off the bench against Colby-Sawyer on Nov. 19, DeFillippi
returned to the starting lineup against Newbury College on Nov. 22.
DeFillippi played 31 minutes, scored 24 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He
was an outstanding 13-of-14 from the foul line in an 86-75 road victory.
DeFillippi also had eight rebounds, four assists and a block. Keeping
in mind that the former Central standout is listed at 5-foot-9, that
rebounding number is impressive.
That performance earned DeFillippi Great Northeast Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors.

Khadaijia Brooks, Marshall women’s basketball

The Thundering Herd improved to 5-1 with a 62-43 win over Morgan State this afternoon, and Brooks was one reason why.

The sophomore and former Bristol Eastern star tallied 13 points to share high-scoring honors with teammate Taylor Porter. Brooks also had five rebounds and one assist. She played a team-high 33 minutes and shot 4-for-6 from the floor, including 2-for-4 from behind the three-point line. Brooks was also a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line.

Brooks is averaging a team-high 30.7 minutes per game. She is scoring 7.3 points per game on 16-of-38 shooting. 

Brooks leads the team in rebounding at 7.2 boards per contest.

Brooks was a solid rebounder underneath for Tony Floyd at Eastern, and that effort continues at Marshall.   

Damian Grant, Albertus Magnus men’s basketball

Grant (Albertus Magnus athletics)

The former Wilby standout became the second straight Falcon to earn Great Northeast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week.

Grant, a freshman, made his first career start on the road against Fitchburg State on Nov. 22, and he didn’t disappoint. Grant tallied 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, plus 4-of-5 from the foul line. He also filled the stat sheet with four rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Grant did foul out, but he played 22 minutes in his first start.

Grant made his second straight start against Old Westbury on Tuesday night. It was another stat sheet filler for the lefty. Grant played 25 minutes, scored six points and snatched nine rebounds. He also had two steals, one block and one assist.

This senior from Crosby has started all four games for the Bison.

Stallings is second on the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game and is averaging 9.0 points per contest. Stallings is playing 24.8 minutes per game and is 13-of-25 from the floor, 4-of-9 from three-point range, and 6-of-9 at the foul line. Stallings also has five assists, four steals and three blocks.

Fouls have been a problem for Stallings, who fouled out of one game and picked up four in another. In just 20 minutes against Westfield State, Stallings had 12 points, five rebounds, and was 5-of-7 on free throws.

Stallings is capable of being a big threat for his team. He was the ECAC Division III New England Tournament MVP in 2015-16. In the semifinals of that tournament, he tallied 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.

Stallings has been joined on the Nichols roster by fellow Crosby grad Jordan Booker, a freshman.