GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Grove City College senior guard Mara Polczynski (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) earned 2024-25 Presidents' Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in women's basketball, as announced Tuesday night by the conference office.

The league's 11 head coaches selected Polczynski for that honor. She also earned Second Team All-Conference distinction in recognition of her play during the recently concluded season. 

The 5-foot-6 Polczynski recorded 80 steals this season, which ranked second in the conference. She also averaged a team-leading 6.5 rebounds per game this season. 

Additionally, Polczynski averaged a team-leading 9.8 points per game while also handing out a team-high 82 assists this season. She averaged 14.6 points per game over the final seven games of the season to help fuel Grove City's late-season surge. 

Polczynski finished her career with 285 steals, which ranks third in program history. Her 366 career assists are also No. 3 in Grove City history. She is tied for eighth in Grove City history with 104 career games played. Polczynski scored 837 points during her four seasons as a starter. 

Polczynski is the fourth Grove City player to be named Presidents' Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Kathryn Erbelding earned the award in 2015 and 2016. Lexie Arkwright captured the honor in both 2017 and 2018 while Kate Balcom won Defensive Player of the Year in both 2019 and 2020.

The conference also recognized senior forward Clara Hannon (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) as a member of its Sportsmanship Team. Hannon averaged 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season while starting all 27 games. She scored 727 career points and, like Polczynski, is tied for eighth on Grove City's all-time games played list with 104.

Grove City finished 16-11 overall, including a 13-7 mark in conference play. The Wolverines advanced to the conference tournament semifinals before falling to eventual conference champion Washington & Jefferson, 70-55.