INDIANAPOLIS—Ashland’s Annie Roshak was named the Great Midwest Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in a voting of the league’s women’s basketball coaches. The Eagles swept the individual awards as Lexi Howe was voted Freshman of the Year and Kari Pickens earned Coach of the Year.
 
Roshak led the conference and ranked third in the country in field goal percentage at .612 through 28 games. The graduate student averaged 16.1 points and 6.2 rebounds during the regular season while averaging nearly one block per game at 0.9. Roshak became Ashland’s all-time leading scorer last weekend with 2,312 career points.
 
Pickens, in her sixth year at the helm of Ashland’s women’s basketball program, led the Eagles to a 27-1 overall record during the regular season and a perfect 20-0 mark in conference play for the second year in a row. Pickens’ squad is ranked first in the Midwest region as well as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national poll. The Eagles rank first in the country in assists per game (21.4), field goal percentage (0.501), rebound margin (12.3), and winning percentage (.964).
 
Ashland giuard Lexi Howe played in 28 games and started in 17 during her freshman campaign. She was named the league’s top freshman after averaging 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.64 assists per game.
 
In all, four different players from Ashland earned all-conference honors. Annie Roshak and Zoe Miller were voted first-team and Hayley Smith was a second-team selection. Miller ranked second behind Roshak in field goal percentage, shooting .608.
 
In total, nine different schools were represented on the first-team all-conference list.
 
Conference runners-up Kentucky Wesleyan landed three all-conference second team selections in Corina Conley, Jordyn Barga, and Emmy Ralph. The trio led the Panthers to a 21-5 overall record and a 16-4 conference mark.
 
Northwood earned the No. 3 seed in their second year as Great Midwest members. The Timberwolves are led by junior Maddie Voelker who earned first team honors as well as Makenzie Todd who landed on the second-team. Voelker appeared in 27 games and averaged 12.5 points per game while shooting .443 from the field. She led the league in free throw percentage, going 81-93 (.871) from the charity stripe this season. Voelker is also the conference's Elite 26 Award winner for academic excellence.
 
Newcomer Thomas More earned the No. 4 seed in their first year as Division II and G-MAC members. Senior guard Alex Smith has paved the way for the Saints, leading the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game. Smith and the Saints sported a 13-7 conference record this season.
 
Hillsdale earned the No. 5 seed as Sydney Mills was voted as a first-team selection. Mills ranked second in the league in rebounding at 9.1 per game and holds the Hillsdale program record for career rebounds at 1,173.
 
The league’s leading scorer in Keeley Carter earned first-team honors after averaging 21.0 points per game and leading the Trojans to their second consecutive postseason berth as the No. 6 seed.
 
Kate Ellis (UF), Erin Kaufman (MU), Gabby Stare (ODU), and Michaela Cloonan (UC) round out the individuals on the first team all-conference list.
 
Ellis is ranked fourth in the league in scoring (14.5 ppg) while Kaufman is the top rebounder at 9.3 per game.
 
Ohio Dominican’s Gabby Stare is second in scoring (16.7 ppg) and fifth in field goal percentage (.507). Senior Michaela Cloonan led the Arrows in scoring at 13.3 ppg and ranked top 10 in the conference.
 
Four teams will meet in Ashland this weekend as they aim for the Great Midwest title. Top seeded Ashland hosts No. 4 Thomas More, while No. 6 Trevecca Nazarene takes on No. 7 Malone
 
A full list of honorees can be found HERE.