GRANVILLE, Ohio (February 28, 2024) – Freshman guard Abby Cooch of the Denison University women's basketball team was named the 2023-24 North Coast Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year while second-year Head Coach Maureen Hirt and assistants Olivia Woolam, Griffin Tullis and Rachel Mikulec were recognized as the NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year. In addition, Cooch was named First-Team All-NCAC while fellow-freshman guard Ada Taute was named to the third-team.

Cooch, a native of Clifton, Virginia, ranked second on the Big Red at 11.8 points per game and was first with 3.7 assists per game. Her 99 assists were the most in a single season for Denison since Serafina Nuzzo's program record of 165 assists during the 2010-11 season. Cooch was also third on the team with one steal per game (28 total) and was fourth with 3.9 rebounds per game. She shot 35.7 percent (114-319) from the field, 34.4 percent (43-125) from three and 82.5 percent (47-57) from the free throw line, and led the team in made 3-pointers while finishing second in both field goals made and free throws made.

Cooch reached double figures in scoring 19 times during the season and scored a career-high of 21 points during Denison's one-point road win (78-77) at Wittenberg University (Feb. 3). She also recorded a double-double and dished out 10 assists during two of Denison's final three games of the season, including a 76-64 win over Oberlin College (Feb. 17) in the final game of the regular season and during Denison's 76-69 semifinal loss at top-seeded and the eventual tournament champion DePauw University (Feb. 23). Cooch was the first Big Red player to reach double-digit assists in a game since Gabrielle Nottage had 12 assists against Wittenberg University on January 28, 2017.

In 14 conference games, Cooch averaged 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. She was third in the conference in assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) and minutes played per game (32.3), was tied for sixth in 3-pointers made per game (1.6), and was 12th in points per game.

Cooch is the sixth Denison player to earn the NCAC's Newcomer of the Year honor and first since Jordan Holmes was selected in 2014.

Taute, a native of Chicago, Illinois, led the Big Red at 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while also ranking third with 2.5 assists and 0.7 blocks (20 total) per game. Her 341 points scored were the most since Jordan Holmes scored 357 points during the 2016-17 season.

Taute shot 46.7 percent (127-272) from the field and 32.7 percent (34-104) from three, and led the team in both field goals and free throws (53) made while finishing third in made 3-pointers. She scored in double digits 18 times during the season and recorded her first-career double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds during the Big Red's 74-62 win at Oberlin College (Jan. 20).

Taute averaged 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 14 conference games, and then in the postseason she was named to the 2024 NCAC All-Tournament Team after averaging 18.5 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals per game and scoring a career-high 30 points during Denison's semifinal loss at DePauw (Feb. 23). It was the most points in a game for a Big Red player since Alison Schafer had 40 against Wittenberg on November 30, 2019.

Taute ranked fifth in the NCAC in steals per game and was ninth in both points per game and field goal percentage. She was also 10th in minutes played per game (30.3) and was tied for 11th in 3-pointers made per game (1.3), was 12th in assists per game, was tied for 12th in blocks per game, and was 13th in rebounds per game.

Cooch and Taute were the only two Big Red players this season to appear in and start in all 27 games.

Denison claimed the 2024 Coaching Staff of the Year honors, the seventh coaching award in program history. The Denison squad was guided to records of 20-7 overall and 10-4 in the NCAC, which was good for fourth place in the conference standings. This season featured the Big Red's most wins in a single season since 2015-16, was their best finish in the conference standings since 2019-20, and was their first appearance in the NCAC semifinals since 2019-20 as well.

In 14 conference games, the Big Red were the most efficient team in the NCAC behind the arc, shooting .340 (87-of-256) while also ranking in the top-four in scoring (66.1 ppg), field-goal percentage (.420; 349-of-831), and assists (14.43 apg). The Denison defense ranked in the top-four against conference foes in five defensive categories, producing a league-high 68 blocked shots (4.86 bpg), ranking second in opponent field-goal percentage (.346), defensive rebounds (27.2 drpg) and steals (9.29 spg), third in combined rebounds (38.8 rpg) and fourth in opponent scoring (55.5 ppg).
 
All-NCAC Release