ROCK HILL, S.C. — After completing the most successful regular season in program history and securing the second-seed for the South Atlantic Conference tournament, the Newberry College women's lacrosse team garnered recognition from the league as six members of the team were named to the 2023 SAC All-Conference team as announced by the league on Wednesday, April 26.
Senior Madalyn Messersmith (Kent Island, Md.) was the lone member of the squad to pick-up first team honors while sophomore Cassell Richardson (Forest, Va.) and senior Marissa Plumer (Kent Island, Md.) earned second-team accolades. Freshman Ella Todd (Maple Ridge, Canada), sophomore Emma Jobs (Sherwood Park, Alberta) and freshman Madison Miller (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) were all named to the third-team at their respective positions.
Messersmith had a career season as she reached the 100 ground ball milestone earlier this season by leading the team with 40 on the year. She caused 25 turnovers on the season, the second most on the team while also recording seven draw controls. She was able to post a season best four caused turnovers in games against Barton and Wingate, while recording a caused turnover in all but two games on the season.
Richardson was the leading goal scorer on the year for the Wolves as she was able to record 41 on the year, matching her goal total from a season ago. She was also able to chip in seven assists on the year, pushing her over 100 points on her career, notching 48 during her sophomore season, the third-most on the team. She recorded 25 ground balls and was able to collect 37 draw controls on the season.
Plumer rounded out her fantastic career at Newberry by breaking the career mark for caused turnover this season. She led the team with 49 points, splitting that between 28 goals and 21 assists. She was able to pick-up 36 ground balls on the year, second on the team, to push her over the 100 ground ball mark on her career while her goal total pushed her over the century mark in that category as well. She caused 30 turnovers on the year, tying the single season mark that she will look to break in the SAC semifinals. Her 77 draw controls on the season led the team.
Todd was the points leader for the Wolves on the season as well, tied with Plumer for 49 with a 33 goal and 16 assist split. She was second on the team with 10 free position goals and was able to record one game-winning goal on the year. She recorded 14 ground balls, eight caused turnovers and three draw controls. Her 68 shots on the year was second on the team while her shooting percentage of .485 was fourth among starters.
Jobs sits fourth on the points ranking on the season with 41 as she tallied 33 goals and eight assists on the year. Her .532 shooting percentage was highest among starters and her .887 shots on goal percentage sat in the same position. She led the team with 15 free position goals on the year while picking up a team high 31 free position attempts. She recorded 24 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers and 26 draw controls.
Miller led a stout defense that allowed only 163 goals on the year, an average of less than 10 per game. She was a key part of the draw control strategy as she record 44 on the season while picking up 24 ground balls and causing 11 turnovers. She had a perfect shooting percentage on the year as she only came up for a shot twice from her defensive position, recording goals on both occasions while chipping in an assist on the year as well.
The Wolves now turn their attention to the semifinals of the SAC Tournament on Friday, April 28 as they take on the sixth-seeded Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial for the right to compete for a SAC Championship on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
