North Allegheny graduates Taylor Lake and Brynn Serbin earned top honors in women's college basketball conferences. Lake, a Chicago senior, was named University Athletic Association Player of the Year and first-team all-UAA. Lake, a 5-foot-10 forward, finished the season averaging 14.1 points and 5.8 rebounds a game. She led the Maroons, who had a 21-6 record, to the NCAA Division III championship tournament, where they lost in the second round. "When I heard (I won Player of the Year), I couldn't believe it," said Lake, a 1,000-point scorer at North Allegheny. "There is so much talent in this conference and on my team. "I am so lucky to be surrounded by teammates and a coaching staff who have played a key role in this team's and my success." Maroons coach Carissa Sain said Lake was such a driver of the offense, she could rarely be taken off the floor. "She is an undersized tweener, (who) can both play on the perimeter and score inside," Sain said. "She has an incredible ability to score and facilitate others scoring. "We are forever changed as a result of Taylor's presence. What continues on in our program will be the indelible mark she left as a leader." Lake, who is studying economics, has accepted a job with the Miami Dolphins as a business analyst. She plans to write a book about life as a Division III athlete and the value of college sports. "Basketball is something that will always be part of my life," she said. "During the final round of interviews with the Dolphins, they mentioned putting in hoops on the campus. "I had already started mentally drafting a team I'd want for company pickup games." Serbin, an Ohio Northern player, was the recipient of the Ohio Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Award. A 5-foot-5 guard, she averaged 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and a team-high 2.1 assists per game. "Part of me still doesn't believe it's real," said Serbin, who led the North Allegheny girls to the 2018 WPIAL Class 6A title. "The amount of support I have gotten from people at ONU and from home has been incredible and makes me proud. "I remember being winded on the first day of practice and thinking, 'Man, this is tough,' but it got better from there because I just knew I would have to work harder." Polar Bears coach Michele Durand said Serbin fit in immediately. "Brynn is a very skilled player," Durand said. "She handles the ball well, shot the (3-pointer) well and has an uncanny ability to find the open player. "Where Brynn helped us most was in her defensive ability. She has incredibly quick hands and made a ton of plays on defense." Serbin, who plans to study pharmacy, said her goal is to help the Polar Bears win the OAC title. They lost in the second round of the conference tournament as the third seed this season and had a 20-7 record. "I always want to progress from year to year not just for me, but for my team," she said. "Some ways I can improve are moving my feet on defense so I can stay out of foul trouble, (developing) a mid-range game and (working) on taking a better shot selection." Karen Kadilak is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.