Senior forward Amanda DeAngelis became the first player in Suffolk women’s basketball history to win the Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year award following a 20-7 season. To DeAngelis, the award is representative of more than just stats — it shows her journey as a Ram, and the work of this year’s team.
“My dad called me the day that I won it. He was so excited, and I immediately started crying. I could never have won it without the girls. Last year I put up similar stats, but this year was just so different because of who we were as a team,” said DeAngelis.
DeAngelis averaged an impressive 17.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game on her path to winning the award.
Her coach, Ed Leyden, has nothing but praise for the impact DeAngelis has had on the team since she first arrived at Suffolk.
“She’s been a cornerstone of our team since she’s been here. I’ve spent a lot of time recruiting her, chasing her all around the country. I knew she was going to be an impact player,” said Leyden.
DeAngelis credits the bond this team shared this year for their huge turnaround, winning seven more games than last year and achieving a winning record on the season.
“I’ve never been on a team that is so close, and we just enjoy being together all the time. We had our first meeting today, and I haven’t seen everyone in a month or so now, and I miss them all. It’s weird not being with them every single day,” said DeAngelis.
Leyden echoed DeAngelis’ thoughts on the team this year, noting that this was one of his favorite seasons as a coach in his 30 years at Suffolk.
“This year was a fun year. We really had a group that stuck together, worked together, was fun to be with, and we ended up with 20 wins and seven losses. We had a lot of good players. From a coach’s point of view, it was one of my most favorite years that I’ve coached,” said Leyden.
Winning this award means a lot to DeAngelis, as her path to winning the CCC Player of the Year award wasn’t exactly an easy one.
“Humbly, I’m extremely proud of myself. There was a lot of adversity in high school. I went to public high school for two years, then boarding school for three so I could play basketball, and I ended up having to take a year off because of back issues,” said DeAngelis. “Then my freshman year at Suffolk being my COVID year was really difficult because I never really felt like I got into a routine, so I didn’t know what to expect going into my sophomore year.”
However, there was one specific game against Nichols College in her sophomore year where DeAngelis believes everything really started coming together for her. During this game, she scored 29 points along with 22 rebounds in a win over Nichols.
“During that game against Nichols, something just clicked and I knew that I wanted to do that every game. That’s what I’ve strived for every year,” said DeAngelis.
DeAngelis developing into one of the league’s best players wasn’t a surprise to Leyden, who saw something in her all the way back when she was playing in high school.
“I thought she was going to be very, very good. I knew she had the love of the game and was a heart and soul kid. It’s nice when someone develops and you feel like you were a little bit of a help to her having success on the court,” said Leyden.
While winning CCC Player of the Year is a huge individual accomplishment, DeAngelis gives immense credit to her team for helping her get to this point.
“My teammates were the reason I was successful this year. I’ve never been part of a team that I’ve enjoyed being around so much. I love playing with every single one of them, I love going to practice every single day, I love playing in the games, it’s fun,” said DeAngelis.
Although the season didn’t end in a championship, the duo of DeAngelis and CCC Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Romito played in the New England Women’s Basketball Association Senior All-Star Game March 24. They are the second Suffolk duo to play in this game together, according to Suffolk Athletics.
While DeAngelis is currently a senior, she intends to come back next year to try and run it back for a CCC Championship.
“I got accepted into grad school, so I will be coming back next year. I’m very excited about that,” said DeAngelis. “This was kind of a last minute decision, I wasn’t planning on coming back. After the way this season ended with us not getting the result we wanted, I want to come back and win a championship to prove we can because we should’ve this year, I fully believe.”
