NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- As the Captains prepare for the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Final Four, postseason accolades continue to mount. On Monday afternoon, Christopher Newport head women's basketball coach Bill Broderick was named the D3hoops.com Middle Atlantic Coach of the Year, while junior forward Sam Porter garnered the program's first All-Region designation since 2014.

Leading the way on the court was Christopher Newport University junior forward Sam Porter, who was named a second team All-Region pick by D3hoops.com. Porter, a first-team All-Conference selection, becomes the ninth player in program history to earn All-Region honors. 

Porter leads CNU in nearly every statistical category this season, including one of the most impressive defensive seasons in CNU lore. Porter helped lead a suffocating defense with 115 steals, ranking fifth all-time at CNU and sitting at third in the country coming into this weekend's action. She has six double-doubles this season, and flirted with a triple-double on several occasions, but most notably in the CAC Championship game versus Mary Washington (13 pts, 10 reb, 9 stl).

She averages a team-best 12.9 points per game, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game. She reached double figures in the scoring column in 21 games this season, including a career-high 33-point effort at home against Salisbury. Porter has also led the way at the free-throw line, reaching the charity stripe 174 times this season with 129 makes for a 74% rate at the line. 

Following a 29-2 season heading into this weekend's Final Four, Broderick becomes the first coach in program history to collect Region Coach of the Year honors. Also named the Capital Athletic Conference's "Bill Finney" Co-Coach of the Year, Broderick has helped guide the Captains to the second national semifinal appearance in the 45 year history of the program. In just his fifth season, Broderick eclipsed the 100th win plateau faster than any coach in CNU Athletics history, and continued to improve his all-time record to 123-25 (.831). 

This season, Broderick's defense ranks second nationally in total steals, and fourth in turnovers forced. The Captains have frustrated opposing offenses all season long, while their own offense ranks in the top 25 nationally. With the two paired, the Captains rank 11th nationally in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 19.9 points per game. Broderick has also guided a team that leads the nation in both makes and attempts from the free-throw line, while ranking among the best seasons in program history in both categories.

CNU suffered just two setbacks this season, coming to a pair of nationally-ranked NCAA Tournament participants in Mary Washington and Marymount. The Captains earned the program's first ever CAC Championship, both regular season and tournament, and returned to the NCAA postseason for the 18th time in program history. 

Porter and Broderick were two-thirds of the CAC representation on this year's All-Region squad, as Mary Washington's Brianne Comden also picked up first team All-Region laurels. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Friday, March 17 against top-ranked Amherst in the NCAA Final Four, with tip scheduled for 7:30 pm in Grand Rapids, Mich. 
 

Player of the Year: Sara Tarbert, Stevenson
Coach of the Year: Bill Broderick, Christopher Newport
Rookie of the Year: Lydia Konstanzer, Ursinus

First team
Pos.	Player	School	Yr.	Hometown
G	Michelle DeSantis	Catholic	Sr.	Trumbull, Conn.
F	Emily Gibbons	Gettysburg	Jr.	Annapolis, Md.
F	Sarah Payonk	Scranton	Sr.	Schweksville, Pa.
F	Sara Tarbert	Stevenson	Sr.	Delta, Pa.
C	Brianne Comden	Mary Washington	Sr.	Fredericksburg, Va.
Second team
Pos.	Player	School	Yr.	Hometown
G	Brandi Vallely	Muhlenberg	Jr.	Oley Valley, Pa.
F	Camille McPherson	Moravian	Sr.	West Orange, N.J.
F	Sam Porter	Christopher Newport	Jr.	Alexandria, Va.
F	Alexix Roman	Scranton	Sr.	Hawley, Pa.
C	Emily Martin	Elizabethtown	Sr.	Lancaster, Pa.