Mandacina, Adams and Ferguson on NAIA honorable mention teams

Three William Jewell basketball players have been named NAIA All-Americans.

Senior Larry Mandacina from the men’s team and juniors Hillary Adams and Erica Ferguson from the women’s team were picked to the All-American honorable mention squads last week.

Mandacina, a 6-foot-2 guard from Blue Springs, led Jewell in scoring (16.2 points per game), rebounds (162) and steals (91) this season. He helped lead the Cardinals to a 23-11 record and a second-round appearance in the NAIA Division I Tournament.

“Larry has worked so hard from day one,” said head coach Larry Holley in a press release. “This is such a great honor as he closes out an outstanding career at William Jewell College.”

Adams, a guard, led the women’s team with 16.5 points per game. Ferguson scored 12.2 points per game and led the Cardinals in rebounds (174) and assists (71).

Jewell women’s team finished 24-10 and qualified for the NAIA Division I Tournament by winning the Heart of America Conference Tournament.

“This is a great honor for Hillary, Erica and our whole team,” said head coach Jill Cress in a press release. “I am proud of our team and certainly proud of Hillary and Erica, and we are looking forward to having them back next year to lead our team.”

Adams, along with junior Erica Akins, seniors Faith Pontius and Amber Parker and junior Haley Stockton were named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

In order to earn that honor, a player must be a junior or above in academic standing and have a grade point average of a least 3.5 for the current academic year.