TOLEDO, OH - Senior Naama Shafir (Hoshaya, Israel) has been lost for the remainder of the 2011-12 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee, Head Coach Tricia Cullop announced on Tuesday. Shafir is expected to have surgery to repair the ligament by the end of December.

The 2011-12 MAC Player of the Year candidate was injured in the first minute of play during UT's 69-58 win at Indiana on Friday, Nov. 25 while driving to the basket and distributing a pass to a teammate. Shafir tried to return to the game later in the first half, but the three-time All-MAC honoree was unable to put any significant weight on her injured knee.

Shafir, who had started 106-consecutive games before sitting out in Toledo's loss at Arkansas State on Sunday, Nov. 27, is averaging 9.3 points, a squad-best 3.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.5 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game this season. She currently ranks sixth in the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.3), seventh in free-throw percentage (85.0%, 17-of-20), tied for seventh in assists and 22nd in scoring.

A season ago, Shafir averaged a team-high 15.3 points, a squad-best 5.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 30.8 minutes per game. She finished third in the MAC in assists (34th in NCAA), seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.09) and 10th in scoring, en route to earning first-team all-league honors.

Shafir was a key component in the Rockets capturing the 2011 WNIT and claimed tourney MVP recognition after scoring a career-high 40 points in a thrilling victory over USC in the championship game (April 2).

Shafir currently sits fourth in UT annals in helpers (569), fifth in free throws made (441), eighth in scoring average (13.7 ppg) and free-throw percentage (76.8%, 441-of-574), ninth in steals (168), and 10th in points (1,452).   

   INTERVIEW WITH NAAMA SHAFIR

 Rebecca Kopilovitch Selected to All-Freshmen Team

                           Shira Shecht (#33)

    Shira Shecht Makes Her Move For Monmouth U.

After a rough first season where she mostly sat on the bench and learned the game of basketball US style, Shira Shecht is starting to be a major contributor to the Monmouth University women's basketball team. Not yet in the starting 5, Shecht still had 9 points against St. Peters College on December 10th.  She was also singled out by her coach Jenny Palmateer for her defense. 

Shecht, from Pardessiya, Israel, was one of the top high school players in Israel and the captain of the Junior National Team.  Even so, her first outing with Monmouth last year was a disaster and relegated her to the sidelines, where she came in sporadically and averaged less than 2 points per game.  Now a sophomore, Shecht has come off the bench in the last 3 games in December to score 9 points against St. Peters, 12 against Winthrop and 7 against Manhattan College.  Shecht, who also excels in the classroom, is the daughter of Yossi and Nedia Shecht.   

FORMER PEACOCK SOCCER CAPTAIN, LIAD AMIR, RECEIVES ANNUAL MAAC POST-GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Edison, N.J. – Bob McCloskey Insurance, a corporate partner of the MAAC, has awarded post-graduate scholarships to Saint Peter’s Liad Amir, and Canisius’ Maura Frauenhofer.

As part of Bob McCloskey Insurance’s partnership with the MAAC, two post-graduate scholarships are presented to a male and female student-athlete in the league’s member institutions who perform exceptionally both athletically and academically. The scholarships promote these accomplished student-athletes to continue their education by attending graduate school. Along with academic and athletic success, other criteria in selecting the honorees includes:  campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and leadership demonstration.

Amir displayed his leadership qualities as a team captain for the Saint Peter’s men’s soccer team where he led the program to a MAAC Championship in 2010, the program’s first since 2003. Amir was on the All-Academic Team from 2009-2011. He was also the Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a member of the Sigma Beta Delta business honor society, and a volunteer with Special Olympics and youth soccer programs. Liad graduated from Saint Peter’s Magna Cum Laude and is currently attending graduate school at Saint Peter’s.

 “Liad and Maura have both represented their schools and the MAAC with the highest degree of integrity,” said Rob McCloskey, President of Bob McCloskey Insurance. “Their academic excellence in the classroom and in athletic competition should be an inspiration to their teammates, classmates and family The entire team at Bob McCloskey Insurance wishes them the best of success in their future endeavors.”

                  ABOUT THE ISRAEL BRIDGE
Who We Are:
Ross Greenstein, Scholarship for Athletes President and Founder of The Israel Bridge

Dan Aronovic, Head of Operations, The Israel Bridge

Our Vision:
The Israel Bridge will work to be the largest resource for connecting and developing relationships between Israelis and Americans.

Current activities:
Finding athletic scholarships for deserving Israeli athletes in the US. We have over 70 athletes attending schools like Ohio State, UCLA, Duke, Maryland, UNLV, Arizona, Arizona State, Rutgers, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the University of San Francisco and many others.

Visit our website for more info

http://israelbridge.org

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