DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – Mercy University Women's Basketball junior Grace Lesko has been named the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Women's Division II Player of the Year and First Team All-Met, Head Coach Scott Lagas has been named Division II Coach of the Year, and senior Angelina Barrera and junior Amani Abuhatab have been tabbed Second Team All-Met.
Lesko becomes the first Player of the Year winner from Mercy. A 6-0 junior forward from Northampton, PA, Lesko --- who also was named East Coast Conference player of the year and a WBCA Division II All-America Honorable Mention --- led the Mavericks (22-8, 15-1) to a share of their first-ever ECC regular season title and into the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second time in three seasons with an at-large invitation.
The team leader in scoring (551 points, 18.4 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and assists (83), Lesko contributed 44 steals while shooting 44.5% from the field and 82.9% at the free throw line. She produced three games scoring at least 30 points and totaled double scoring figures in all but one of the 30 Mercy contests in 2025-26.
Named an All-Met Honorable Mention in 2025 when she was the ECC rookie of the year, Lesko, in two seasons of basketball at Mercy, has recorded 865 points for a 14.9 ppg career average.
Having just concluded his eighth season as head coach of the Mavericks, Lagas --- who has been named both MBWA and ECC coach of the year twice (2024, 2026) --- guided Mercy (22-8, 15-1) to a share of its first-ever conference regular season title and into the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second time in three seasons with an at-large invitation. In 2024, his Mavs gained their first NCAA postseason appearance since 1985 and this season's victory total was the most for Mercy since then. He has now surpassed 100 coaching victories with the Mavericks.
Barrera earns Second Team All-Met honors this season after taking home First Team honors last year. The senior was named Second Team All-ECC after playing in 21 games making 19 starts with 11.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game on a team-high 48.4 percent shooting. The two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week ranked third on the team in points per game and second in rebounds and blocks per game. She scored in double figures 13 times this season, highlighted by a season-high 21 points at Molloy. Barrera recorded her 100th career block at Molloy and her 1,000th career point at St. Thomas Aquinas. The senior ends her career with 1,114 career points, 682 rebounds, 108 blocks, 102 steals and 158 assists in 105 games.
Abuhatab is named Second Team All-Met after being named All-Met Honorable Mention last year. The junior was named First Team All-ECC after being named ECC Player of the Week once. The guard averaged 13.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on 40.2 percent shooting. She ranked second on the team in points per game and led the team with 45 three-pointers and a 33.6 percent three-point percentage. The guard scored in double figures 21 times and had a career-high 26 points in the win at Roberts Wesleyan.
The quartet will be honored at the 93rd MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner on Thursday, April 23rd, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY.
