After four months and well over 200 Horizon League women’s games, here are the individuals we feel are most deserving of the conference’s postseason awards.
While some selections aren’t really a surprise (yes, Macee Williams is our Player of the Year for a record fourth time, though the race was closer than most cared to acknowledge), others candidates emerged as the season played out. Youngstown State’s surprise run from seventh in the preseason polls to a regular season co-championship scored the Penguins a solid awards haul, including a Coach of the Year nod for John Barnes. Two YSU players received spots on the all-league teams, while Mady Aulbach was our Defensive Player of Year for her well-publicized successes against most of the league’s star perimeter players.
The team that split the title with Youngstown State, IUPUI, was represented by two very familiar names: Williams and Rachel McLimore, who reclaimed her spots on both the second all-conference team and the all-defensive team. While not an official award, McLimore may have been been responsible for the Horizon League’s moment of the year, as the DePaul transfer sunk the decisive free throws to boost the Jags past Caitlin Clark and Iowa on December 21st.
Green Bay’s nationally-ranked rookie class claimed two spots on the all-freshman team through Bailey Butler and Maddy Schreiber, while Hailey Oskey (one of the Phoenix’s few non-freshmen) made our second all-league team.
Fourth place Cleveland State was also well represented, with super sub Amele Ngwafang grabbing Sixth Player of the Year honors after finishing fifth in the conference in both rebounding and blocked shots. Destiny Leo, whose 17.8 points per game in league games was second only to Williams, claimed a first-team spot, while workhorse post player Nadia Dumas cracked the third team. Gabriella Smith also qualified for the all-defensive unit as the ballhawk who often made the Vikings’ aggressive zone defense its most effective.
Player of the Year: Macee Williams, IUPUI
Coach of the Year: John Barnes, Youngstown State
Freshman of the Year: Bailey Butler, Green Bay
Defensive Player of the Year: Mady Aulbach, Youngstown State
Sixth Player of the Year: Amele Ngwafang, Cleveland State
All-League First Team
Macee Williams, Forward/Center, IUPUI
Lilly Ritz, Forward, Youngstown State
Megan Walstad, Forward, Milwaukee
Destiny Leo, Guard, Cleveland State
Lindsey Duvall, Guard, Northern Kentucky
All-League Second Team
Chelsea Olson, Guard, Youngstown State
Hailey Oskey, Guard, Green Bay
Rachel McLimore, Guard/Forward, IUPUI
Jaida McCloud, Guard/Forward, UIC
Jada Roberson, Guard, Wright State
All-League Third Team
Nadia Dumas, Forward, Cleveland State
Ivy Turner, Guard, Northern Kentucky
Grayson Rose, Forward/Center, Northern Kentucky
Shayla Sellers, Guard, Purdue Fort Wayne
Esther Castedo, Guard, Robert Morris
All-Freshman Team
Bailey Butler, Guard, Green Bay
Khamari Mitchell-Steen, Guard, Northern Kentucky
Audra Emmerson, Guard, Purdue Fort Wayne
Maddy Schreiber, Guard/Forward, Green Bay
Kendall Folley, Guard, Oakland
All-Defensive Team
Mady Aulbach, Guard, Youngstown State
Rachel McLimore, Guard/Forward, IUPUI
Megan Walstad, Forward, Milwaukee
Grayson Rose, Forward/Center, Northern Kentucky
Gabriella Smith, Guard, Cleveland State