Johns Hopkins junior Leslie Ritter (Fort Washington, MD/Oxon Hill), who topped the league in steals and was second in assists per game, was named the 1999 Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Year in balloting by the 11 head coaches. Ritter, a 5-5 guard, led the Blue Jays to their fifth consecutive West Division title and an appearance in the conference semifinals opposite Washington. She leads the team in scoring (16.6 ppg), steals (3.75 spg), assists (4.42 apg) and free throw percentage (65.6). A first-time All-CC selection, Ritter becomes the third consecutive Blue Jay to receive the honor, following in the footsteps of Julie Anderson '98 (1997) and Angie Arnold '98 (1998).

Muhlenberg senior guard Jill Roth (Allentown, PA/Central Catholic) and Western Maryland senior forward Kathi Snyder (Newport, PA/West Perry) both moved onto the first team after earning second-team nods a year ago. Roth was 11th in the conference in scoring (11.7 ppg), while Snyder, a unanimous selection, was third in scoring (16.9 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (8.5). The Mules will host the Green Terror in a Centennial Conference semifinal game on Wednesday, February 24, with a 6:30 p.m. starting time.

Freshman Heather Kile (Marlton, NJ/Holy Cross), the first Swarthmore player to be named to the first team, also becomes the first rookie to be named to the elite quintet in the conference's six-year history. She set the CC record for points scored by a freshman (478) and set a school record for rebounds in a season (355). Kile posted 22 double-doubles on the year, helping lead the Garnet to a third-place finish in the East, its best finish ever.

Gettysburg senior forward Megan Malloy (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) rounds out the first team. She became the school's all-time leading rebounder (912) when she collected 15 rebounds in her finale vs. Franklin & Marshall. Malloy was second in the conference in rebounding (10.7 rpg), while also ranking sixth in blocked shots (0.92 bpg).

The Centennial Conference playoffs kickoff on Wednesday night at two sites. Muhlenberg (15-9) plays host to Western Maryland (17-7) at 6:30 p.m., while Johns Hopkins (20-4) hosts Washington (15-8) for a 7 p.m. start. The winners will meet Saturday at a campus site to be determined. If Muhlenberg defeats Western Maryland, the title game will be in Allentown. Otherwise, the championship tilt will be held at the winner of the Johns Hopkins-Washington game.

The complete All-Centennial team follows:

1998-99 All-Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Team

First Team

Pos.		Name				Cl.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
F	*	Kathi Snyder, Western Maryland	Sr.	6-0	Newport, PA/West Perry
F		Heather Kile, Swarthmore	Fr.	5-10	Marlton, NJ/Holy Cross
F		Megan Malloy, Gettysburg	Sr.	5-9	Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional
G		Leslie Ritter, Johns Hopkins	Jr.	5-5	Fort Washington, MD/Oxon Hill
G	*	Jill Roth, Muhlenberg	Sr.	5-7	Allentown, PA/Central Catholic


Second Team

Pos.		Name				Cl.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
F	@	Marjahna Segers, Johns Hopkins	Jr.	5-10	Hempstead, NY/L.I. Lutheran
F 	#	Kelly McCarthy, Ursinus		Sr.	5-10	Barrington, NJ/Haddon Heights
F		Jill Ibex, Western Maryland	So.	6-0	Westminster, MD/Westminster
G	#	Sarah Clarke, Muhlenberg	Sr.	5-4	Nutley, NJ/Nutley
G	@	Kim Selemba, Dickinson		So.	5-7	Scranton, PA/Bishop O'Hara




Honorable Mention

Pos.		Name					Cl.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
F		Katie Bierzonski, Washington		So.	6-0	Camp Hill, PA/Trinity
G		Lauren Howanski, Franklin & Marshall	Fr.	5-8	Gap, PA/Pequea Valley
G 		Amy Kreitz, Franklin & Marshall		Fr.	5-6	Allentown, PA/Salisbury
G		Shana Goane, Ursinus			Jr.	5-8	Secane, PA/Springfield-Delco


# - First-Team All-Conference in 1998

* - Second-Team All-Conference in 1998

@ - Honorable Mention All-Conference in 1998



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Ritter led the Blue Jays to a fifth consecutive West Division title and a berth in the Centennial Conference seminfinals opposite Washington. She tops the league in steals (3.75 spg) and is second in assists (4.42 apg), fourth in scoring (16.6 ppg) and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (30.8).

Ritter is making her first appearance on the first-team All-Conference team. Her 90 steals this season is just six shy of the Centennial Conference record and she needs just 32 points to reach 1,000 for her career. Ritter is the third consecutive Blue Jay to receive the honor, following in the footsteps of Julie Anderson '98 (1997) and Angie Arnold '98 (1998).