SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 19, 2025) – Western New England women's basketball senior
Lilly Hedge continues to receive significant postseason awards from separate organizations, including the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, D3hoops.com, and New England Women's Basketball Association.
Hedge has been named to the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) NCAA Division III Coaches' All-American Honorable Mention team. Hedge is the first member of the Western New England women's basketball team to receive honors on the honorable mention All-America team in program history. Hedge adds these honors after already being named to the New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) all-region second team and Conference of New England Player of the Year. Hedge played in 29 games for Western New England this season, making a start in all 29 of those contests. The Guilford, Connecticut native poured in career highs in nearly every statistical category for the blue and gold this season. Hedge averaged a team-high 25.5 minutes per game, coming up with 108 made field goals on 240 shots, shooting 45% overall from the floor. Hedge also dropped down 12 triples and 94 free throws, both career highs. On the glass, Hedge came away with 66 rebounds on the offensive glass and came up with 166 defensive rebounds, good for 232 total boards on the season, averaging eight rebounds per game. Additionally, the WNE senior collected 78 assists, 30 blocks, and 47 steals, to go along with her 322 total points scored on the season. Hedge has 644 points in her 77 games played at Western New England.
To go along with All-American honorable mention team presented by the WBCA, Hedge will also participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association's All-Star Game, which will take place on Saturday, March 22 at 1:00 PM preceding the NCAA Division III women's basketball national championship game in the Cregger Center on the campus of Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. The all-stars were chosen by a committee composed of head women's basketball coaches of NCAA Division III programs, all of whom are members of the WBCA. All players were nominated by WBCA member coaches. Hedge is the only student-athlete from the Conference of New England to be featured in the WBCA All-Star game and is one of two from Region 2 (Madison Medbury, RIC).
The WBCA All-Star game is one of two all-star games in which Hedge will compete in to end the season representing Western New England. Hedge will also compete in the New England Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (NEWBA) All-Star Game on Sunday, March 30 at Smith College. Hedge is one of three from the Conference of New England (Amanda DeAngelis, Suffolk, Faye Veilleux, UNE) to be named to the NEWBA All-Star Game. Hedge becomes the eighth Golden Bear to be named to the NEWBA all-star game and the first since 2018-19. Hedge joins Meghan Gilhool, Dorothy O'Neill, Emily Anderson, Paige Young, Chelsea Vujs, Sam McCann, and Kailah Al-Darraji to play in the NEWBA all-star game.
Lastly, Hedge was named to the D3hoops.com Region 2 All-Region First Team, the first member of the Western New England women's basketball team to accomplish this feat. Hedge impressed many in the final game of the season, a close 55-52 loss to Gettysburg College where Hedge came away with a game-high 17 points and 17 rebounds, one point shy of tying her season high in points though breaking her single-game career high rebound total by five. Hedge also becomes the first Golden Bear since 2016 to be honored at the end of the season by D3hoops.com.
The Western New England women's basketball team, led by Hedge, completed the season with a 25-4 overall record and earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, coming away with their first win in program history in the big dance in a 61-52 win over Tufts University.
