COURTESY OF BOWDOIN ATHLETICS

The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named Kate Kerrigan ’18 the WBCA Division III Player of the Year after an exceptional season. Kerrigan joins Eileen Flaherty ’07 as only the second Bowdoin player to receive this award.

Kerrigan was a frequent standout on the team. She was also named the 2018 NESCAC Player of the Year, NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, NEWBA Player of the Year,  D3hoops.com Northeast Region Player of the Year and First Team All-NESCAC.

Head Coach Adrienne Shibles believes that Kerrigan’s strength comes from her dependability and versatility on the court.

“[Kerrigan] is special because she’s incredibly consistent and she does it all,” said Shibles. “She doesn’t average a ton of points in comparison to other players in the nation—she averages around ten points a game—but she also rebounds incredibly well for a guard and averages seven rebounds in a game. As a guard that’s incredible. She is the biggest assist leader in the conference, and she leads the conference in steals.” said Shibles.

Shibles emphasizes Kerrigan’s attitude as well. “She’s unselfish. She involves her teammates. She’s just a really special player, who will be missed,” said Shibles.

Kerrigan’s recent awards help illustrate the impact that she has had on the Bowdoin women’s basketball program as both a player and a captain. Kerrigan is the first player in the program to accumulate over 900 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals throughout her career.

Yet, despite receiving these honors, Kerrigan has always focused on improving her team as a whole.

“For me it’s always been about the team, what the team can achieve together and how can I best get the team to where we want to be,” said Kerrigan. “There’s a ton of great players in DIII and to receive that award is a great honor, but it’s never really a goal of mine. It’s all about how we can get to the national championship and how [we can] make a deep run in the tournament.”

Kerrigan intends to remain involved in basketball after her graduation as an assistant coach for Smith College’s women’s basketball team.

To read more about the women’s basketball team’s second place finish in the NCAA DIII Tournament, click here.