A trio of former local high school girls basketball standouts recently picked up some special honors for their respective 2022-23 collegiate seasons as Notre Dame High School graduate and University of Rochester senior Callie McCulley, Caledonia-Mumford High School graduate and Alfred University graduate student Gillian Flint and Hornell High School graduate and Alfred University junior Leah Harkenrider were recognized for their campaigns.
Three of the top performers from the University of Rochester women’s basketball team earned plaudits from the University Athletic Association as members of the 2022-23 All-UAA Team as graduate student Katie Titus was named First Team All-Conference while seniors McCulley and Alexis Sestric have been selected to the Second Team.
Rochester as a team finished 16-9 overall this season, posting a 6-8 record in UAA play. The Yellowjackets captured tournament titles at the UR Chuck Resler Tournament at the Mark’s Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout and earned a national ranking for much of the season, peaking in the top-10 in the D3hoops.com poll.
McCulley, a forward, picked up her first All-UAA honor. She had a terrific season in 2022-23, starting all 25 games for the Yellowjackets along the front court. She averaged 10.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field. She added 66 assists, 20 steals and 17 3-pointers made on the season, establishing new career highs in blocks, assists, and shooting percentage (.447).
McCulley started out the season with a tremendous performance against Texas-Dallas on November 11, setting a new Rochester single-game record with eight blocked shots in the Yellowjacket win. The next night against nationally ranked Messiah, she recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and ended as the UR Chuck Resler Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
For the season, McCulley was second in the UAA in blocks, third in total rebounds and fifth in rebounds per game. Within Division III, McCulley ranked in the top-50 of all players in blocks, while also being nationally ranked in rebounding.
Meanwhile, three Saxon women’s basketball players were selected to the 2022-23 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team for Division III in late February, including Flint and Harkenrider.
The 2022-23 Academic All-District® Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes basketball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA — for each gender.
To qualify, a student-athlete needs to have a least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or an important reserve, competing in over 50 percent of the team’s games.
Flint has earned Empire 8 President’s List (3.75 GPA or higher) in all but one of her semesters since attending Alfred University and has earned Dean’s List (3.50 GPA or higher) in every semester. Harkenrider has earned E8 President’s List twice and Dean’s List in all but one semester.
On the court, Harkenrider and Flint were the top two scorers for the Saxons this season.
Harkenrider paced the team with 13.6 points per night to go with 4.1 rebounds, 36 total assists and a free throw percentage of .739. Flint was second on the team in scoring with 11 points per night to go with 4.4 rebounds and 38 steals, while the two combined to start 49 of a possible 50 games.
Of note, Dansville High School graduate Grace Rittenhouse was third on the Saxons in scoring with 8.9 points per night to go with 4.6 rebounds.
Alfred finished at 15-10 this winter, including a 10-8 record in conference and an 8-2 record at home.
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