A 2016 MAAC All-Rookie Team honoree, Welch averaged 8.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season in her first year as a Golden Griffin. One of the MAAC’s top 3-point shooters, the Erie, Pennsylvania native ranked 11th in the MAAC with her 1.7 makes per game from long range, while also ranking fifth in the league with her 36.7 percent success rate from behind the arc. She posted double-figures in the scoring column in 11 of Canisius’ final 13 games last year, highlighted by her career-best 23-point effort against Monmouth Feb. 21.
Welch is joined on the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team by Fairfield’s Kelsey Carey, Marist’s Ali Clement, Kaylee Stremple from Niagara and Siena’s Jackie Benitez. Iona senior guard Marina Lizarazu was a unanimous choice as the 2016-17 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year.
As a team, Canisius was picked to finish sixth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Quinnipiac, the MAAC’s defending champion, was picked to repeat as the conference’s top squad after earning 117 points with seven first-place votes. Iona was chosen to finish second with 114 points and four first-place votes, while Siena (90), Fairfield (82) and Marist (72) were tabbed to place third through fifth. Canisius earned 58 points in the preseason poll, followed by Monmouth and Manhattan, which tied for seventh with 53 points, each. Niagara was picked to place ninth with 42 points, with Rider (24) and Saint Peter’s (21) rounding out the 11-team field.
Canisius will play host to Daemen for an exhibition game in the Koessler Athletic Center on Nov. 9. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The Griffs will officially open the 2016-17 campaign on Nov. 13, when the Blue and Gold hosts Northeastern. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
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