UNION, N.J.. (3/16/10) - The honors continue to roll in for senior Melissa Beyruti and junior Tiffany Patrick, as Beyruti was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Metro Region Player of the Year and earned ECAC First-Team Metro Region honors along with Patrick. These awards come a day after the two were named D3hoops.com Atlantic Region first-team all-stars after leading the Kean University women's basketball team to a record-breaking 29-win season and a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight.

A week ago, the duo were also named finalists for the NCAA Division III State Farm Coaches' All-American Team by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The all-american teams for D3hoops.com and the WBCA will be announced later this week at the Final Four.

The Cougars, who made four straight NCAA tournament appearances, captured the New Jersey Athletic Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the third time in the last four years.

Beyruti (Union City, N.J.) became the NCAA all-time leader in three-point field goals made (397) and the NCAA Division III leader in all-time games played at 128 this season, after receiving a medical hardship waiver last season for an injury in the eighth game of the 2008-09 season.

Beyruti, who was injured in the NJAC Championship Game against William Paterson University on February 28, missed the first two games of the NCAA tournament before being forced to play a limited role in the NCAA sectionals as a result of the injury.

The program's all-time leading scorer with 1,974 career points, Beyruti was a member of the 10-player NCAA Division III State Farm Coaches' All-American Team and was named a D3hoops.com third-team all-american in 2007-08.

This season, Beyruti averaged 12.7 points and knocked down 92 three-pointers, as she became the first player in program history to be named NJAC Player of the Year, while also earning NJAC first-team honors and D3hoops.com regional honors for the third time in her career.

The NJAC Defensive Player of the Year this past season, Patrick (Piscataway, N.J.) averaged a double-double with 12.5 points and 10.8 rebounds, while leading the team in both steals (98) and blocks (74).

Patrick anchored a team defense that ranked in the top 10 in the nation in four different categories, including first in blocked shots per game (7.4) and second in field goal percentage defense (.298).

A three-year starter, Patrick led the NJAC in blocked shots, was second in rebounding and third in steals.

The Cougars won a program best 29 games, winning a school-record 29 straight after a season-opening loss to Division I Rutgers University, before falling to University of Rochester in the Elite Eight.