Editor's Note: The Marist Athletics Department is continuing to highlight its Senior Awards finalists. From April 20-May 15, a feature story will be presented on each finalist for Sportsperson of the Year.
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Previous finalists: Megan Fergus (Volleyball) | Sydney Ford (Women's Rowing) | Female Strength & Conditioning (April 14) | Male Strength & Conditioning (April 15) | Female Pizzani (April 16) | Male Pizzani (April 17)
POUGHKEEPSIE, New York - Alana Gilmer was right where she wanted to be.
After rolling off the screen for
Grace Vander Weide from the left wing, she raced to the right elbow to receive the pass from
Allie Best. Only Iona's Paulla Weekes stood between her and the basket. Cradling the rock, Gilmer pump faked to her right. Weekes shifted just to enough to go for the shot. Gilmer created all the separation she needed with one more left-handed dribble and stepped to her left before releasing the shot.
Gilmer knew the outcome. Her four teammates on the court already knew the outcome. The Marist bench already knew the outcome. The 1,377 fans packed inside McCann Arena on that March 5th evening already knew the outcome.Â
After all, they've watched Gilmer knock down that midrange jumper time and time again over the last three seasons.
Now with the redshirt senior's Marist career in the books,
Alana Gilmer is a finalist for the 2020 Female Sportsperson of the Year.
Gilmer's nomination should not come as a surprise to anyone who has watched her play in a Marist uniform. However, the way she executed her game and the time she did it in are what make her athletic contributions to Marist Women's Basketball most memorable.
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Modeling her game off her father, George, Gilmer turned into a versatile offensive weapon that could hurt opponents in a number of ways, whether it was underneath the basket…
With the jumper…
Or from deep…
"Alana is one of the most gifted athletes to ever don a Marist College uniform," commended Head Coach
Brian Giorgis. "Her ability to score at all three levels made her one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the MAAC. She possessed the best mid-range jumper in the MAAC... She was always at the top of opponents scouting reports."
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Indeed, those skills manifested into multiple pieces of hardware for the North Easton, Massachusetts native. Gilmer was an All-MAAC player in each of her seasons as a Red Fox; two of those years garnered unanimous First Team honors. She also had multiple MBWA awards as one of the top players in the New York city metro area, picking up All-Met Second Team honors earlier in the week and two All-Met Third Team selections.
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Gilmer's production is also evident in the Marist record books. She caps her career second all-time in scoring average at 16.0 points per game, fourth in both points (1,518) and field goals (602 – one of just four Red Foxes to reach that mark), and fifth with a career field goal percentage of .496.
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As impressive as it is to just haver her name in the annals of Marist history, it is even more extraordinary with the context that she only played
three seasons in the Red and White.
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Of the dozens and dozens of Red Foxes to walk through the Marist campus and McCann Center halls, only three players have scored more points than she has. All while playing one season less than some of her predecessors on the top 10 list. If she were to play another season of 31 games (an undershot, considering her teams reached the MAAC Championship in each of her full seasons) scoring 16 points per game, she would finish with 2,014 points and join Rachele Fitz in the 2,000-point scoring club.
Gilmer wanted to be part of a family while also contributing on the court for her college basketball team. After her rookie campaign at Virginia Tech, she entered the transfer portal to see if there was a better fit for her.
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Marist immediately jumped into her mind. The coaching staff, which had its eye on Gilmer in high school,
checked in throughout her freshman year. The packed crowds inside McCann Arena each night provided an unmatchable vibe for a mid-major program. Most importantly, the team in place gave her the sense of friendship and family she sought.
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"I think the atmosphere at Marist is just remarkable," said Gilmer after Marist's Senior night win over Siena on March 7. "You don't see that anywhere else, especially for a mid-major school. I'm so blessed to have been able to come here and play for a crowd that just supports me endlessly."
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Each Red Fox that comes through the women's basketball program has the opportunity to reap those benefits. However, it takes a special person to not only experience those factors, but to use them to give back to her teammates, coaches, program, and community.
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Gilmer has done just that.
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"As good of a player that Alana was, she was an even better teammate," said Giorgis. "She was respected and admired by teammates and opponents alike. She will be sorely missed for that."
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Gilmer carried herself with respect and made sure to treat others with respect, be it teammates, coaches, opponents, administrators, fans… the list goes on. She garnered respect because of that. It is what made her into an effective leader and team captain in her final season. Sharing captain's duties with
Rebekah Hand and Vander Weide, she took on the role of ensuring the team took care of its business first, and doing so with whatever it took.
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This past year's squad certainly did that, going 26-4 to capture a share of its 12
th MAAC regular season championship in program history. It took a global pandemic to deny her and the team a chance at its first MAAC title since 2014.
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Even though the ending was not what she nor Marist imagined for such a special player and person, it will not ruin the Marist experience for Gilmer. After all, she was right where she wanted to be.
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For me, (coming to Marist) was kind of life-changing," she said before her Senior Night. "I'd say it was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I've met a group of girls that have turned into my best friends and sisters. I think I wouldn't have been able to have that experience anywhere else."
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Gilmer is not immune to the other senior student-athletes whose futures hold uncertainty as the nation deals with the COVID-19 outbreak.
She has expressed interest in playing professional basketball overseas – a path that her former teammates
Maura Fitzpatrick and
Lovisa Henningsdottir have taken.
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Whether she lands with a team or enters the workforce in another outlet – she will have two Marist degrees at the end of May – her next team should understand what type of person they will get in
Alana Gilmer. It will receive someone who works tirelessly to achieve her goals. It will receive someone who wants to not only contribute to the cause, but also lead others. It will receive someone who will take the respect you give her and return it ten-fold.
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If Gilmer's next journey is close to the same as her Marist tenure, then she and her next team will benefit exceptionally, the same way that she, Marist Women's Basketball, and the entire Red Fox community did by watching her drain those unstoppable midrange jumpers.
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