IU freshman guard Jaelynn Penn has done it again.
After becoming the first IU women’s basketball player to win Big Ten Freshman of the Week since senior guard Tyra Buss was named in 2014-15, it was announced Monday that Penn had repeated as the award’s recipient.
Similarly, Buss also won back-to-back Freshman of the Week selections back in 2014. Penn followed up the week of her first selection in which she averaged 15.5 points and shot 72.7 percent from three-point range by averaging 11 points and 4.5 rebounds in two games against Wisconsin and Rutgers last week.
She was also efficient when shooting the ball, as she shot 46.2 percent from the field and a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line in that two-game span.
Penn’s recent play has been vital to IU’s current three-game winning streak. In the Hoosiers’ wins over Michigan State, Wisconsin and Rutgers, she has averaged just over 11 points and shot 44 percent from the field.
Last week against Wisconsin, she scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds while going 4-4 on free throws. She then followed that up by tying for a team-high 14 points while pulling down four rebounds and shooting 6-6 from the charity stripe against Rutgers four days later.
The Louisville, Kentucky, native is also part of a starting five that has shouldered much of the load for IU all season. She’s averaged 32 minutes per game and started in all 23 games in the Hoosiers’ backcourt, mostly alongside Buss and fellow freshman Bendu Yeaney, this season.
After her recent streak of good games, Penn’s numbers on the season have significantly increased. She’s now averaging 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and shooting 39.1 percent from the field on the year.
Her scoring numbers have been even better in Big Ten play as she has averaged 11.6 points so far.
Penn and the 11-12 Hoosiers will look to extend their hot streak Feb. 4 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall where they’ll take on Northwestern in their third game of a four-game home stand.
Murphy Wheeler
