INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the second straight week and the sixth time this season, Cleveland State women's basketball redshirt freshman Ashanti Abshaw has been named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week. Abshaw led the Vikings to a 2-1 record last week, picking up wins over Valparaiso (72-65) and Northern Kentucky (64-62) to close out the regular season.
Abshaw and the Vikings finished the regular season with a 9-19 overall record and a 6-12 mark in league play, earning the No. 8 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament after the strong regular season finish.
During Cleveland State's three games last week Abshaw averaged a double-double with 24.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. She shot 44-percent from the field (24-for-54) and 88-percent from the free throw line (16-for-18) – including a pair of perfect performances from the charity stripe against Valparaiso (6-for-6) and Northern Kentucky (6-for-6).
In the first game of the week against Valparaiso, Abshaw posted a double-double with a career-high 26 points and 13 rebounds, and followed that up with a 14-point, six-rebound performance at Wright State.
Abshaw then concluded the regular season with one of her best games of the season, posting a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds in the win at Northern Kentucky. This marked the first 30-point game for Abshaw, and her ninth 20-point game of the season.
For the year, Abshaw ranks fourth in the Horizon League in scoring (16.7 ppg) and second in rebounding (9.5 rpg), and is one of just two league players to rank in the top-five in both categories. So far, Abshaw has been Cleveland State's leading scorer in 17 games this season and Cleveland State's leading rebounder in 22 contests.