INDIANAPOLIS-- Milwaukee sophomore Jenny Lindner (Neillsville, 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 Feb. 29-March 6.
Milwaukee closed out the regular season with a split weekend against Oakland and Detroit. The Panthers defeated the Golden Grizzlies in a thrilling 98-95 contest that secured the No. 2 seed and a double bye in the Horizon League Championship for Milwaukee. The win marked number 18 on the year for the Panthers, the most in a season since 2005-06. On Saturday, Milwaukee saw five players reach double figure points but fell to Detroit 80-76 at Calihan Hall.
Lindner posted a career-high 32 points and six rebounds in the win at Oakland while shooting 14-for-24 to equal another career-high. In addition, the sophomore’s 24 attempts were the second-most in Milwaukee program history. Of her 32 points, 16 were netted in the fourth quarter to help close out the victory. Lindner went for 20 points and seven rebounds over Detroit with 14 points in the third frame to lead Milwaukee. Overall the sophomore averaged 26 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.0 spg and went 21-for-43 (.488) from the field for the week.
Cleveland State concluded conference play with the No. 8 seed in the tournament after losing to Wright State and defeating Northern Kentucky. The Vikings got off to a slow start against the Raiders and failed to make up the point differential in the 81-64 loss. A couple days later, Cleveland State defeated the Norse 64-62 off of a last second shot by Abshaw. The Vikings trailed at the half but went on a 11-4 run in the third frame to close the gap en route to the win.
Abshaw recorded a career-high of 32 points over Northern Kentucky, including the game-winning jumper. The freshman also posted her tenth double-double of the season adding 14 rebounds to the effort. Facing Wright State, Abshaw tallied 14 points and averaged 23.0 ppg for the week along with 10.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.5 spg. Abshaw now holds the freshman class program record for rebounds in a season.
The Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship begins on March 10 at the Kress Events Center in Green Bay, Wis.
Top Players of the Week:
Brianne Cohen, Detroit (So., F): Tallied 23.5 ppg on Detroit’s 1-1 week with a career-best 33 points against Milwaukee and 22-for-24 effort from the charity stripe.
Kim Demmings, Wright State (Sr., G): Recorded 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals against Cleveland State and 10 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists versus Youngstown State.
Dani Franklin, Valparaiso (So., G): Scored a team-high of 16 points over UIC and shot 6-for-11 from the floor in the win.
Elena Popkey, Oakland (Sr., G): Scored a career-high in 33 points and also posted career highs in field goals (13) and triples (5) versus Milwaukee. Added nine points with a game-high six assists and three steals on Senior Day to defeat Green Bay.
Christine Roush, Northern Kentucky (Sr., G): Posted 26 points against Cleveland State and added 12 versus Youngstown State. In addition, set a Division I era record at Northern Kentucky for points in a season with 486.
Top Freshmen of the Week:
Alyssa Fischer, Milwaukee (G): Tied a career-high with 10 points at Detroit and played a big role against Oakland and the Titans coming up with big shots in crucial moments for the Panthers.
Meredith Hamlet, Valparaiso (G): Led Valparaiso in scoring at Cleveland State with 19 points on 5-for-13 shooting from 3-point range. Went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc at UIC for 13 points and matched a season high in assists.
Taylor Jones, Oakland (G): Scored a game-high 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting and 3-for-6 from three-point range. In addition, posted 18 points with five assists versus Milwaukee.
Lola Ristovski, Detroit (G): Dished out six assists and had three blocks over Green Bay in addition to four points, three rebounds and three assists against Milwaukee.
Symone Simmons, Wright State (F): Went for nine points, seven rebounds against Cleveland State and six points, four assists and four rebounds versus Youngstown State.
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)
Jan. 4: Rosanna Reynolds, Detroit (Jr., G)
Jan. 11: Kim Demmings, Wright State (Sr., G)
Jan. 18: Steph Kostowicz, Milwaukee (Sr., G)
Jan. 25: Courtney Roush, Northern Kentucky (Sr., F)
Feb. 1: Brianne Cohen, Detroit (So., F)
Feb. 8: Ruvanna Campbell, UIC (Sr., F)
Feb. 15: Steph Kostowicz, Milwaukee (Sr., G)
Feb. 22: Rosanna Reynolds, Detroit (Sr., G)
Sierra Ford-Washington, Milwaukee (Jr., G)
Feb. 29: Jenny Lindner, Milwaukee (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)
Dec. 20: Taylor Jones, Oakland (Fr., G)
Dec. 27: Emily Vogelpohl, Wright State (Fr., G)
Jan. 4: Taylor Jones, Oakland (Fr., G)
Jan. 11: Ashanti Abshaw, Cleveland State (Fr., F)
Jan. 18: Taylor Jones, Oakland (Fr., G)
Jan. 25: Taylor Jones, Oakland (Fr., G)
Feb. 1: Ashanti Abshaw, Cleveland State (Fr., F)
Feb. 8: Taylor Jones, Oakland (Fr., G)
Feb. 15: Emily Vogelpohl, Wright State (Fr., G)
Feb. 22: Ashanti Abshaw, Cleveland State (Fr., F)
Feb. 29: Ashanti Abshaw, Cleveland State (Fr., F)
Tags: Horizon League - Women's Basketball
