Coleman Named Player of the Week, Newman Earns Freshman Honors

INDIANAPOLIS – Cleveland State guard Cori Coleman (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) has been named the Horizon League women’s basketball Player of the Week and Youngstown State forward Kelsea Newman (Perrysburg, Ohio) has been named Freshman of the Week.

Coleman tallied a career-high 27 points on Sunday in Cleveland State’s game at Miami (Ohio). The junior guard was 10-of-16 from the field during the game, including 5-of-9 from three-point range. The five three-pointers tied for her career-high. She also tied for team-high honors in the contest with two steals.

Coleman – a preseason Second-Team All-League selection – has been much more assertive on the offensive end of the floor in the last few games. After hitting just eight three-pointers in the first eight games of the season, Coleman has connected on 16 in the last four games, including knocking down five three-pointers in each of the last two games. In the last three games, Coleman is averaging 23.0 ppg., on 57.5 percent (23-of-40) shooting and is 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from three-point range.

Cleveland State (5-7) returns to action on Saturday when it plays at South Dakota.

Newman is the second straight Penguin to earn the freshman award after she came-off-the-bench to score a career-high 16 points in YSU’s game at Akron on Sunday. She was 6-of-10 from the field in the game, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. She added three offensive rebounds, one assist and one steal in 20 minutes of action.

Youngstown State (4-8) opens the New Year at home when it hosts IUPUI on Saturday.

Top Performers for the Week:
Kim Demmings, Wright State (Jr., G) – Demmings had 21 points – on 9-of-17 shooting – seven steals, five rebounds and two assists in the Raiders’ 84-62 win at Chicago State on Sunday. The seven steals tie for the most by a Horizon League player this season.
Charae Richardson, Valparaiso (Sr., G) – Richardson led the Crusaders with 18 points and six rebounds in Valpo’s loss to Western Michigan on Sunday. It was the first time this season she led VU in both categories.
Heidi Schlegel, Youngstown State (Sr., F) – Schlegel tied her career-high with 27 points in YSU’s loss at Akron on Sunday. She had 19 of her 27 in the second half and also grabbed eight rebounds.
Rachel Story, UIC (Sr., G) – Story had a game-high 23 points to lead the Flames to their ninth-straight victory. It was the third straight 20+-point effort of the season for Story and UIC is now 9-0 with her in the lineup.
Avyanna Young, Milwaukee (So., F) – Young recorded her second-straight double-double and fifth of the season, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way against Drake. She made 5-of-6 shots from the floor.

Top Freshman for the Week:
Brooke Smith, Cleveland State (Fr., G) – Smith tied her career-high with seven points and set a career-high with five rebounds in CSU’s game at Miami (Ohio).

Women’s Basketball Player of the Week:
Nov. 11: Kim Demmings, Wright State
Nov. 18: Ivory James, Wright State
Nov. 25: Rachel Story, UIC
Dec. 2: Kim Demmings, Wright State
Dec. 9: Sharon Karungi, Valparaiso
Dec. 16: Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State
Dec. 23: Rachel Story, UIC
Dec. 30: Cori Coleman, Cleveland State

Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week:
Nov. 11: Mehryn Kraker, Green Bay
Nov. 18: Tesha Buck, Green Bay
Nov. 25: Tesha Buck, Green Bay
Dec. 2: Megan Galloway, Detroit
Dec. 9: Khayla Livingston, Cleveland State
Dec. 16: Tesha Buck, Green Bay
Dec. 23: Jenna Hirsch, Youngstown State
Dec. 30: Kelsea Newman, Youngstown State