LOUDONVILLE, NY – Members of both Siena basketball programs were honored with the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award for December 2018, Siena Athletics announced Monday afternoon. Men's basketball sophomore Manny Camper and women's basketball junior Maddie Sims each were honored as the accolade's final recipients for the 2018 calendar year.

A sophomore from Chestertown, MD, Camper started the Saints' first 11 games of the season before being sidelined due to injury, averaging 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per-game. The 6-6 combo guard scored in double-figures twice, including a season-high 14-point effort at Robert Morris on Dec. 8 to help the team to a 74-71 road victory. A business major, Camper holds a 2.99 cumulative GPA.

Starting in 12 of the program's 13 games so far this season, Sims has played an instrumental role in women's basketball's current campaign, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding with 13.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per-contest. Producing a team-best eight games in double-figure scoring this year, Sims has posted four double-doubles, marking the first time she has reached the milestone in her Siena career. The junior was named the MAAC Player of the Week on Dec. 17 after posting 23 points and 11 boards to lead the squad to a home victory over UMass.

A member of the MAAC All-Academic Team, MAAC Academic Honor Roll and ECAC Spring 2018 President Honor Roll last season, Sims is pursuing a degree in business and holds a 3.25 cumulative GPA.

The Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award is presented nine times annually (September-May) throughout the academic year. The award recognizes exemplary achievements in both academics and athletics. The late Leo Dufort received a B.S. in marketing and management from Siena in August of 1977. His entire academic career was completed on a part-time basis beginning in the spring of 1961, as a married adult while at the same time raising five children. He passed away suddenly of a heart attack while cross country skiing in February of 1993. His wife Jeanine wanted to do something to immortalize his memory. The original plaque was donated to athletics and the department began the Leo Dufort Student Athlete of the Month Award to help carry out his legacy. Dufort graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1954, and was a Navy Veteran (USS Bennington) who worked for JL Hammett Co. at the time of his death.