After the IU women’s basketball team got its second conference win of the season in an upset victory over Michigan State, one of its players has been recognized by the Big Ten.
It was announced Monday that freshman guard Jaelynn Penn was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
In the Hoosiers’ games last week against No. 14 Maryland and Michigan State, Penn had one of her best stretches of her young career.
She averaged 15.5 points per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from behind the arc.
In IU’s narrow 74-70 loss at Maryland on Jan. 16, Penn tied for a team-high 18 points and hit five of eight 3-pointers. She also played a pivotal role in the team’s 69-65 victory on Jan. 20 in East Lansing, Michigan, as she scored 13 points and hit a key fourth-quarter three down the stretch.
Penn’s recent streak of good play has stretched back to the week before. In IU’s 77-62 loss to No. 10 Ohio State on Jan. 13 at home, she led the Hoosiers in scoring 20 points while grabbing nine rebounds.
Her scoring averages have subsequently increased as she’s now averaging ten points per game on the year. She’s also averaging five rebounds and is shooting 38.6 percent from the field.
This is Penn’s first Big Ten Freshman of the Week award of her career after coming to IU as a five-star recruit out of Louisville, Kentucky. It is also IU’s first Big Ten Freshman of the Week since senior guard Tyra Buss received the award in the 2014-15 season.
The 9-12 Hoosiers will continue their Big Ten schedule at 7 p.m. on Jan. 24 in Bloomington as they prepare to take on Wisconsin.
Murphy Wheeler
