(New Rochelle, NY) — The NJCAA has named Monroe basketball players Aivah Parham as a first-team All-American and Jasmine McRoy as a second-team All-American. Both were key players in the Mustangs’ 2011-12 season that culminated in their second-consecutive NJCAA Division II National Championship. The list of NJCAA Division II All-Americans
“I am bursting with pride,” said coach James Robinson Jr. “These two young ladies, and all our players really, reached down deep and achieved beyond everyone’s expectations. They made a commitment to being great and accepted nothing less. These are two fine basketball players and outstanding citizens. I’m sorry we’re losing Aivah to graduation, but we’re thrilled that Jazz will be back at Monroe as we attempt to three-peat in 2013.”
Parham a 5’10” sophomore forward from Baltimore, MD, was the only player who returned to the Mustangs from the 2011 title team. She averaged 15.4 ppg and 9.1 rpg over the season, but saved some of her best work for the national tournament where she averaged 18.5 points in the four games including 22 points in the final.
Her nomination, submitted by the college’s Athletic Department said:
“Aivah led the way for Monroe in many ways. She had double-doubles in 11 of the team’s 31 games. She was the team’s captain and leading scorer and led the team in the all-important never-say-die stat of offensive rebounds. She also had the team’s season high of 32 points in a game. More importantly she was the heart and soul of the team…”
McRoy, a 5’9″ freshman guard/forward from Gaithersburg, MD, averaged 13.5 ppg and 6.0 rpg on the season, but also socred more in the national tournament (14.5 ppg). She had 21 points in Monroe’s win in the final.
Jasmine’s nomination said:
“Aside from her will to do the best for her team, Jasmine’s greatest on-court assets are her remarkable versatility and range. She can finish on the break, she can shoot the three-ball, she has a great eye for a key pass, and her ferocity under the boards and on defense has been a hallmark of her game and a rock-solid element to the defending national champions’ play. Her consistency was truly a revelation. She scored in double figures in 21 of the team’s 31 games and had more than 20 four times.”
Both Parham and Mcroy made major contributions in the season’s penultimate moment. When Monroe had lost the lead in the finals with only 2:21 left, Parham hit two free throws and McRoy made a big steal on defense. Then Parham hit a jumper in the final minute to put the game away and seal the national championship for Monroe.