Alicia Porter earns All-Cal Pac First Team honors

VALLEJO, Calif. – Junior forward Alicia Porter received All-Cal Pac First Team recognition when conference officials announced their end-of-season honor roll on Friday.

"I am proud of Alicia.  She has a true leader on and off the court and someone we can count on during games," said head coach Denise Bennett. "She's put in the work during, and outside of practice, she played a key role for us this season."

The Simi Valley native ended the 2021-22 campaign as the league's top rebounder by averaging 11.1 per game — a new single-game record if individuals competing in the Women's Basketball Championship, hosted by Cal Maritime, do not finish with a higher average once postseason play concludes.

Porter also ended the year ranked No. 3 in scoring at 17.1 points per game.

When the Cal Pac unveiled its year-end award winners, she also ranked No. 11 and No. 61 among all NAIA players with her rebound and scoring figures.

The third-year global studies and maritime affairs major garnered national attention for her record-breaking performance at Pacific Union midway through league play. On January 30, Porter finished with a double-double of 43 points and 26 rebounds, new career highs in each category. Her 26 boards are the Cal Pac's new all-time single-game record; she is now responsible for the fourth-highest single-game points total in league history.

"I knew I was having a good game, but I never realized what took place because I was focused on doing whatever the team needed to win," said Porter. "If anything, I was focused on grabbing any loose ball within reach, remaining in the moment and helping the team on each possession."

For her efforts in Angwin that afternoon, she earned Cal Pac and NAIA National Player of the Week honors when each organization announced their selection the following week.

"This was the best game of my career, that afternoon was the byproduct of all the hours spent in the gym throughout my life. When everything sunk in after the game, that was a once-in-a-lifetime feeling I will work hard to experience again, especially since we returned home with a win."

That game against the Pioneers was one of 11 double-doubles earned throughout the season; she ended the year with nine in a row.

Even with opposing teams focusing their game plans and strategies on stopping Porter — the Keelhaulers were ravaged by injuries this season and competed in numerous games with only five active players — she still found ways to make a major impact since she finished No. 1 among all Cal Pac players in defensive rebounds (90), total rebounds (134), rebounds per game (14.9) and points per game (23.7) throughout league play.

In conference games only, her double-double average ranked her No. 4 and No. 2 in the nation.