The Queens College Knights and their star forward, junior Madison Rowland, have been recognized by the Women’s Division II Bulletin (WDIIB) with preseason accolades.
The Knights have been ranked 11th in the WDIIB Preseason Top 25 Poll, while Rowland was named to the Super 16 All-American Team, representing the East region.
Last season, under head coach Bet Naumovski, the Knights finished the season with a 22-8 record, won the East Coast Conference Championship and entered into the East Region of the NCAA Division II National Tournament as the fifth seed. It was the team’s second consecutive 20-win season and moved Naumovski into third place on the school’s all-time wins list in her fourth season at Queens College.
Last year Rowland was named the All-Met Division II Co-Player of the Year and East Coast Conference (ECC) Player of the Year as she led the Knights, the ECC and all of Division II in steals per game (4.3) for the second straight year. She also led all sophomores in the country in scoring and finished ninth overall in Division II with 20.9 points per game.
Rowland finished her sophomore year with 18 double-doubles — good for 13th in the nation — and was ranked in the top four in the ECC in scoring, steals, rebounds (9.9 rebounds per game) and assists (4.1 assists per game).
Rowland was one of only 13 players in Division II to post a triple-double last season and has now posted triple-doubles in both her freshman and sophomore years. During the season she scored 28 points in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden and was named Most Outstanding Player of the ECC Championship after leading the Knights to their second-ever conference title and an NCAA Tournament berth. She has amassed 1,159 career points, 504 rebounds and 247 steals in her two seasons as a Knight.
