CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball team handed out its annual year-end awards last month, honoring five Vikings with four awards. Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad handed out awards for MVP, Rebounding Excellence, Sixth Player, and Most Improved.
Each honoree is detailed below along with a video made by Graduate Assistant Kaila Montgomery and Sports Information Video Intern Kyle Weakland.
Rebounding Excellence | Alexis Eckles, Sophomore
Eckles averaged a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game – grabbing 255 total boards. She notched 175 defensive rebounds and 80 offensive boards. Eckles notched double-digit rebounds nine times on the season, including a career-high 19-board effort against Wright State in the Horizon League Semifinals. Among Horizon League players, Eckles finished the season ranked sixth with her 8.0 rebounds per game, sixth with 5.5 defensive boards per game, and eighth with 2.5 offensive rebounds per game.
Sixth Player of the Year | Allison Mitchell, Junior
Mitchell played in 28 games this season, coming off the bench to average 15.6 minutes per game. She averaged 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, along with notching 22 assists and 13 steals. Mitchell set career-highs in every statistical category this season, including posting a career-high 11 points against Wright State in the Horizon League Semifinals.
Most Improved | Brooke Smith, Sophomore
Smith stepped into the starting lineup just six games into the season, and went on to play a critical role as one of CSU's primary ball handlers. She averaged 28.4 minutes per game this season, compared to just 9.6 minutes per game last year. Compared to last season, Smith improved her scoring averaging (by 4.9 ppg), rebounding average (by 2.5 rpg), and assist average (by 2.2 apg). She set career-highs in all statistical categories, including a career-best 17 points and a career-best six assists multiple times throughout the season.
Co-MVP | Cori Coleman, Senior & Imani Gordon, Senior
Coleman and Gordon were named the Co-MVPs after leading the Vikings to their best season over the past four years. Both Coleman and Gordon led the team averaging 16.1 points per game, while they ranked in the top-three in rebounding and assists.
Coleman finished her Viking career ranked sixth on the CSU career scoring list with 1,584 points – just the sixth Viking all-time to notch 1,500 points. She set a program record with 217 career three-pointers, while she ranks fifth with a .353 three-point shooting percentage on her career. Coleman also cracked the top-20 CSU career rebounding list, finishing 17th with 551 career boards.
Gordon became just the fifth Viking all-time with 1,300 career points and 750 career rebounds – finishing her career ranked 10th with 1,323 points and eight with 753 career rebounds. She ranks third with 510 defensive rebounds and fifth with 243 offensive rebounds, while she also cracked the top-five with 400 free throws made on her career.
2014-15 Cleveland State Women's Basketball Season Highlights
2014-15 Cleveland State Women's Basketball Off Court Video
