INDIANAPOLIS -- Green Bay sophomore Allie LeClaire (Green Bay, Wis.) is the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Player of the Week while Cleveland State’s Ashanti Abshaw (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) is the Freshman of the Week for the week of Dec. 14-20.
Green Bay (8-2) now has five-straight victories after wins over Loyola and South Dakota State this past week. The Phoenix posted two come-from-behind wins in both games where the team showed strong performances in the fourth quarter. Despite a close contest, Green Bay held the lead over Loyola a majority of the game en route to its 65-51 victory. On Saturday, the Phoenix were back at the Kress Center to host the Jackrabbits in which the team overcame a second-half deficit to capture the 58-57 win. Green Bay held South Dakota State to just 11 points in the fourth quarter and now is only allowing an average of eight points to be scored in the final quarter of games played at home this season.
LeClaire led Green Bay in scoring in both contests to tab a total of 40 points for the week for a 20.0 ppg average. The sophomore posted 26 points with 18 of those coming in the second half against Loyola to help the Phoenix pull away for the victory. Against South Dakota State, one of the top mid-major programs in the nation, LeClaire notched 14 points and three steals in the team’s fifth-straight win. For the week, LeClaire went 13-for-25 (.520) from the field, 6-for-12 from the charity stripe (.500) and 8-for-10 (.800) from beyond the arc in addition to averages of 1.5 rpg, 2.0 apg and 2.0 spg.
Cleveland State (3-6) split the week with a win over Florida International and a loss to Saint Louis. At home against FIU, the Vikings went into halftime tied 27-27 and a one point lead following the third frame. The Vikings jumped out to a eight-point lead just 1:22 into the fourth quarter and held on to capture the 58-47 victory at the Wolstein Center. In the opening contest of the Tulane Classic on Sunday, the Vikings fell to Saint Louis 76-65. Cleveland State got off to a strong start to the ballgame but could not hold off runs from Saint Louis to overcome the scoring deficit.
Abshaw was impressive for Cleveland State in both contests averaging 20.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 3.5 spg. The freshman knocked down 16 points in the win over FIU followed up by a career-high of 25 points in the loss to Saint Louis. Abshaw shot 13-for-26 (.500) from the field for the week, along with three triples and went 12-for-15 (.800) from the free throw line. Abshaw has now recorded double-digit points in all nine games this season for the Vikings.
Cleveland State faces UNC-Greensboro tonight at 4:00 p.m. ET in a continuation of the Tulane Classic tournament in New Orleans, La. Green Bay hosts Belmont on Tuesday, Dec. 22 on ESPN3 for an 8:00 p.m. ET tip-off.
Top Players of the Week:
Nikki Arbanas, Youngstown State (So., G): Tallied 10 points and three assists on 4-for-5 shooting against Salem International and 15 points,two assists and two rebounds versus Lake Erie.
Abby Dean, Valparaiso (Sr., F): Scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting.
Antania Hayes, Wright State (Jr., F): Posted eight points, three assists and two steals against Mount St. Joseph and a team-high 26 points, six rebounds and three assists over Georgia.
Taylor Jones, Oakland (Fr., G): Scored a game-high of 19 points in first career start versus Chicago State on 6-of-10 shooting and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Kendyl Nunn, UIC (Jr., F): Recorded a season high of 16 rebounds for her second-career double-double in the win over Denver.
Christine Roush, Northern Kentucky (Sr., G): Led the Norse in scoring this week with 16 points over IU-Kokomo and 12 points facing Akron.
Olivia Voskul, Cleveland State (So., F): Posted a career-high 18 points against FIU while notching back-to-back double-doubles with 11 points versus Saint Louis.
Top Freshmen of the Week:
Marissa Brown, Youngstown State (Fr., G): Recorded the two highest scoring games of her career with 16 points, three blocks and eight rebounds versus Salem International and nine points, four rebounds against Lake Erie.
Meredith Hamlet, Valparaiso (Fr., G): Finished game versus SIUE with 10 points and a career-high six rebounds.
Emma Roenneburg, Milwaukee (Fr., F): Grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in addition to scoring seven points facing Denver.
Emily Vogelpohl, Wright State (Fr., G): Went for 11 points, two rebounds and two assists against Mount St. Joseph and 10 points, eight assists, six steals and five rebounds versus Georgia.
Players of the Week
Nov. 9: Kaili Lukan, Green Bay (Sr., G)
Nov. 16: Kim Demmings, Wright State (Sr., G)
Nov. 23: Kim Demmings, Wright State (Sr., G)
Nov. 30: Allie LeClaire, Green Bay (So., G)
Dec. 6: Sarah Cash, Youngstown State (So., F)
Dec. 13: Allie LeClaire, Green Bay (So., G)
Freshmen of the Week
Nov. 9: Taylor Jones, Oakland (Fr., G)
Nov. 16: Molly Glick, Northern Kentucky (Fr., F)
Nov. 23: Emily Vogelpohl, Wright State (Fr., G)
Nov. 30: Ashanti Abshaw, Cleveland State (Fr., F)
Dec. 6: Emily Vogelpohl, Wright State (Fr., G)
Dec. 13: Ashanti Abshaw, Cleveland State (Fr., F)
Tags: Cleveland State - Women's Basketball · Green Bay - Women's Basketball · Horizon League - Women's Basketball
