York Dispatch Staff Report
Eastern York High School graduate Kate Dellinger has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments during her tenure at Widener University.
The 5-foot, 9-inch senior added to that resume this week when she was named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy.
The Jostens Trophy is a national award created by the Rotary Club of Salem, Va., to honor the most outstanding men’s and women’s NCAA Division III basketball players of the year. The award takes into account basketball ability, academic prowess and community service. The trophy is based on the Rotary International motto of “Service Above Self.” This is the 16th year of the award’s existence. Dellinger is one of 11 finalists.
Dellinger was the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year for the 2011-2012 season. She has been a first-team all-conference selection for three straight seasons. In February, she was picked a second team Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America to become the 46th honoree in school history and the ninth to earn the award at least twice. She also is a three-time Academic All-District selection.
A fourth-team preseason All-American by D3Hoops.com this season, Dellinger is 10th in the conference at 11.9 points per game, fourth at 9.1 rebounds per contest, tied for seventh at 2.0 steals per game and fifth with 32.2 minutes per contest. She also has been named to two all-tournament teams and leads the team with 11 double-doubles.
She is seventh in school history with 1,234 points and fourth with 739 rebounds.
The owner of a 4.0 grade-point average in four of her seven semesters studying psychology and physical therapy, she has been on the President’s List four semesters and has received a Presidential Scholarship since her freshman year. Dellinger last season was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Women’s Basketball Performer of the Year, one year after being named to the paper’s Academic All-Area Team.
Within the community, Dellinger has volunteered with the Special Olympics, Hoops from the Heart, Cradles to Crayons and City Team, in which the Widener team adopted a family last fall.
Voters’ ballots for the award are due by March 13 with the winners expected to be notified by March 15. The awards presentation is scheduled for Thursday, March 21, at the Salem Civic Center in conjunction with the Men’s NCAA Division III quarterfinals and semifinals in Salem.
Widener (23-5, 16-2) is in the NCAA Division III sectional semifinals Friday and will face fellow co-conference regular-season champion and 16th-ranked Messiah at 6 p.m. in Amherst, Mass. The winner faces either No. 4 Amherst or No. 9 Tufts in the sectional final on Saturday, with the champion advancing to the Final Four.
The Pride advanced thanks to Saturday’s 57-56 second-round triumph at No. 9 Catholic. Dellinger ended with 15 points and 16 rebounds in that game. One day earlier, Widener scored a 56-52 first-round win over Freedom Conference champion FDU-Florham for the first NCAA Tournament victory by any women’s team in school history.
