INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State sophomore Sarah Cash (Lordstown, Ohio) is the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Player of the Week while Wright State’s Emily Vogelpohl (Cincinnati, Ohio) is the Freshman of the Week for the week of Dec. 28-Jan. 3.
Youngstown State began its week hosting Tennessee State where the team relied heavily on a big third quarter to capture the 69-58 victory. The Penguins outscored the Tigers by 16 points in the third frame with the help of two double-digit runs to seal the come-from-behind win after being down as much as eight points in the game. Against League-opponent Detroit on Saturday, the contest came down-to-the-wire as Cash made two go-ahead free throws with five seconds left to peg the 72-70 victory as the team rallied back from a 15-point deficit. The Penguins began the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run on the Titans which was their first lead since the first quarter of the ballgame.
Cash posted impressive numbers for Youngstown State over the week averaging 23.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.5 spg and 1.5 bpg. The sophomore also shot 19-for-26 (.731) from the field and 8-for-9 (.889) over the two games. Cash tallied a career-high of 24 points versus Detroit with 18 of those coming in the second half and making nine of her final 10 attempts from the field. In addition, Cash recorded 22 points in the win over Tennessee State with 17 points coming in the final two quarters. Over the two contests, of Cash’s 23.0 ppg she averaged 18.0 points in the second half.
In Wright State’s League opener over UIC, the Raiders held off a late rally in the fourth by the Flames to capture the 73-62 victory. Wright State controlled the first three frames while leading by as much as 23 points in the third period. The Raiders would again see a large lead dwindle down in their contest versus Valparaiso on Friday as the squad allowed the Crusaders back in the contest in the fourth quarter. Wright State, however, would use a late 14-2 run to seal the 80-63 win over Valparaiso.
Vogelpohl reached 20 points in each game for Wright State as the freshman averaged 20.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.5 apg and 4.0 spg. Facing UIC, Vogelpohl scored 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 7-of-10 from the charity stripe in addition to her five assists, five rebounds and three steals. Versus Valparaiso, the freshman went 7-for-15 from the field, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and 4-for-5 from the free throw line to total 20 points while grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out six assists and collecting five steals.
Youngstown State continues League play as it hosts Milwaukee on Thursday, Jan. 7 for a 5:15 p.m. ET tip-off. The Penguins and Wright State are both in action on Saturday, Jan. 9 as the Raiders welcome Northern Kentucky to the Nutter Center at 2:00 p.m. ET and Youngstown State hosts Green Bay at 4:30 p.m. ET. All games will be streamed live on ESPN3.
Top Players of the Week:
Dani Franklin, Valparaiso (So., G): Scored a season-high 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting at Wright State and now averages 10.3 ppg.
Steph Kostowicz, Milwaukee (So., F): Went a perfect 5-for-5 in the win over IPFW while now reaching double digit points eight times this season.
Kaili Lukan, Green Bay (Sr., G): Scored a team-high 17 points over Milwaukee and a team-high of five assists versus Dayton.
Sinclair Russell, Oakland (Jr., F): Scored a career-high 18 points and posted a season-high 14 rebounds in win over Cleveland State. Tied season-high of three blocks and two steals while grabbing eight rebounds and 10 points at Vermont.
Kasey Uetrecht, Northern Kentucky (So., F): Sunk the game-winning three-pointer in the win over UIC while scoring 11 of her 14 points in the second half and a career-high four assists.
Nicole Urbanick, Detroit (So., G): Tied the school record with eight triples on her way to a career-high 32 points over Eastern Michigan while averaging 20.0 ppg for the week and 58.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Top Freshmen of the Week:
Ashtani Abshaw, Cleveland State (F): Posted her fourth double-double this year with 20 points and 13 rebounds at Oakland while hitting the 20-point mark for the third time this season.
Molly Glick, Northern Kentucky (F): Shot over 50 percent in the two games this past week while averaging 7.0 ppg and nine points in the win over UIC.
Meredith Hamlet, Valparaiso (G): Shot 10-for-11 from the floor at Northern Kentucky to mark the third-best shooting performance in program history while averaging 18.5 ppg last week for the Crusaders.
Brittney Jackson, Detroit (G): Tied career-highs with 11 points and three assists in Detroit’s contest against Youngstown State.
Taylor Jones, Oakland (G): Dished out a career-high eight assists while scoring 20 points in the win over Cleveland State.
Emma Roenneburg, Milwaukee (F): Led the team in rebounding all three games with a 7.6 rpg average and remained perfect from beyond the arc.
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)
Dec. 20: Olivia Nash, Oakland (Sr., G)
Dec. 27: Sarah Cash, Youngstown State (So., F)
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)
Dec. 20: Taylor Jones, Oakland (Fr., G)
Dec. 27: Emily Vogelpohl, Wright State (Fr., G)
