Maria Mongomo already made a great first impression as a rookie in the Canada West Conference.
Now the rest of the country knows what Mongomo meant this season to the UNBC Timberwolves women's basketball team.
On Wednesday, Mongomo was named to the CIS All-Rookie team -- the first Timberwolf ever to receive CIS recognition.
"There have been many players of different sports working as hard as me," said Mongomo, in a UNBC release. "To be the first one in UNBC to earn this award, it's very important for me personally. I believe this is a big celebration for UNBC's sports, and especially to those players."
Mongomo, a native Las Lamas, Spain, joined the Timberwolves over the summer and quickly established herself as one of the league's top point guards. She was named to the Canada West All-Rookie team and finished second in voting for Canada West rookie of the year behind Brooklyn Legault of North Vancouver, who plays for the Alberta Pandas.
In 12 games, Mongomo posted a per-game average of 17.5 points (third in Canada West), seven rebounds (second among Canada West rookies), 2.6 assists and 2.5 steals (fourth in conference). Playing for a UNBC team which finished the season 3-17, her shooting average was 39.6 per cent from the field and 31.3 per cent from three-point range.
"She is a great player and person," said UNBC atthletics director Loralyn Murdoch. "Maria earned her place on the CIS All-Rookie Team, and this is not only significant for her, but for UNBC athletics as a whole."
Mongomo was forced to return to Spain with six games left in the season when her student visa application, made from Canada, was rejected. She hopes to have her paperwork sorted out and plans to return to UNBC for next season.
Before Mongomo, fifth-year forward Jennifer Clyne was the most recent Timberwolf to earn national award recognition when she made the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association All-Canadian team in 2011-12, the season before UNBC joined the CIS.
