INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State senior Latisha Walker (Cleveland, Ohio) is the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Player of the Week while Valparaiso’s Jasmyn Walker (Muskegon, Mich.) is the Freshman of the Week for the week of Dec. 29-Jan. 4.
Youngstown State (11-2) kicked off the week hosting Akron at the Beeghly Center and handed the Zips their first loss of the season. The Penguins notched an impressive 75-62 win, trailing just 64 seconds the entire contest. On the road a few days later, Youngstown State went up against Cornell at Newman Arena and fell 75-63. The squad led 39-35 at halftime but could not keep up its hot shooting in the final 20 minutes to hold off the Big Red.
Walker tabbed her sixth double-double of the season against previously undefeated Akron while netting 25 points and collecting 11 rebounds. The senior added three blocks in the victory while shooting 9-for-13 from the floor and 7-for-11 from the charity stripe. Walker continued to put up double-digit points for the Penguins in the loss at Cornell as she tallied 16 points. For the week, Walker averaged 20.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg and held a 68.2 field goal percentage (15-22).
Valparaiso (4-9) had two home contests this past week at the Athletics-Recreation Center as it hosted Purdue-Calumet and Stetson. While taking on Purdue-Calumet, the Crusaders started with a 20-4 run en route to an 109-81 victory. The 109 point total was the highest in the program since 1993. Three players recorded first-career double-doubles while two extended career-highs. Over the weekend, Valparaiso got behind early against Stetson and could not cut the deficit in the 73-62 loss.
Walker exploded on the offensive end for the Crusaders against Purdue-Calumet as the freshman notched a career-high 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the floor. In the victory, Walker also grabbed four rebounds. In the loss against Stetson, she led Valparaiso with 16 points (6-of-12) and collected eight rebounds. She currently leads the team in rebounds with a season average of 6.6 rpg. Walker averaged 18.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 1.5 spg for Valparaiso throughout the week.
Conference play begins throughout the League on Wednesday, January 7 with Green Bay at Wright State and Milwaukee at Detroit. Youngstown State and Valparaiso debut in the conference on Thursday, January 8 with the Crusaders at Cleveland State beginning at 5 p.m. ET and the Penguins at UIC for a 8 p.m. ET tip-off.
Top Players of the Week:
Jaleesa Armstrong, Milwaukee (Jr., G): Led Milwaukee with 20 points against Western Illinois while hitting 4-of-6 shots from behind the arc.
Ruvanna Campbell, UIC (Jr., F): Slated her ninth double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds versus Loyola and scored 12 points in 10 minutes of work against Robert Morris-Springfield.
Kiersten Green, Cleveland State (Sr., G): Became the 25th Viking all-time to score 1,000 career points in the game against Ohio. Led Cleveland State with 19 points, including 12 on four three-pointers.
Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State (Sr., G): Notched double-digit points in all three contests this week with 17 against Chicago State, 21 versus Central State and 19 at Northern Kentucky. Averaged 5.0 rpg, 6.0 apg and 4.3 spg over the three games.
Elena Popkey, Oakland (Jr., G): Scored a season-high 20 points at Dartmouth while hitting a season-best four triples to mark her 20th career 20-point performance.
Haleigh Ristovski, Detroit (So., F): Played all 45 minutes of the overtime game against Eastern Michigan while scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to mark her fourth double-double of the year. Her point and rebound totals were career highs in addition to sinking a career-best six triples.
Haylee Thompson, Valparaiso (So., G): Recorded back-to-back double-doubles against Purdue-Calumet and Stetson. Averaged 13.0 ppg and 11.0 rpg throughout the two contests.
Top Freshmen of the Week:
Indiya Benjamin, Youngstown State (G): Scored nine points in each contest this past week while adding four assists and four rebounds against Akron. Benjamin also dished out five assists against Cornell while only having one turnover.
Ciara Patterson, Wright State (G): Scored 14 points against Chicago State and Central State, respectively.
Darianne Seward, Detroit (G): Scored 15 points in the game versus Eastern Michigan while also tabbing four rebounds and four assists.
Teodora Zagorac, UIC (F/C): Scored a career-high seven points in 19 minutes off of the bench against Robert Morris-Springfield.
Players of the Week
Nov. 10: Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State (Sr., G)
Nov. 17: Ruvanna Campbell, UIC (Jr., F)
Nov. 24: Mehryn Kraker, Green Bay (So., G)
Dec. 1: Rosanna Reynolds, Detroit (So., G)
Dec. 8: Ellisha Crosby, Detroit (Sr., G)
Dec. 15: Tay’ler Mingo, Wright State (Sr., G)
Dec. 22: Olivia Nash, Oakland (Jr., G)
Dec. 29: Latisha Walker, Youngstown State (Sr., G)
Freshmen of the Week
Nov. 10: Nikki Arbanas, Youngstown State (Fr., G)
Nov. 17: Dani Franklin, Valparaiso (Fr., G)
Nov. 24: Indiya Benjamin, Youngstown State (Fr., G)
Dec. 1: Allie LeClaire, Green Bay (Fr., G)
Dec. 8: Dani Franklin, Valparaiso (Fr., G)
Dec. 15: Darianne Seward, Detroit (Fr., G)
Dec. 22: Darianne Seward, Detroit (Fr., G)
Dec. 29: Jasmyn Walker, Valparaiso (Fr., G)
Tags: Cleveland State - Women's Basketball · Detroit Mercy - Women's Basketball · Green Bay - Women's Basketball · Horizon League - Women's Basketball · Milwaukee - Women's Basketball · Oakland - Women's Basketball · UIC - Women's Basketball · Valparaiso - Women's Basketball · Wright State - Women's Basketball · Youngstown State - Women's Basketball
