Northern Kentucky women’s basketball guard Grace White is the first Freshman of the Year for 2018, as announced by the Horizon League office on Tuesday afternoon. It is White’s first honor of her career, and she is the second Norse to earn distinction this season as Coffey was named the League’s top performing rookie for the week of Dec. 11. NKU is the only school thus far to have two different freshmen honored this season.
Though she played one game due to being sidelined by minor injury late in the game against Milwaukee, White had a career scoring night against the Panthers. The 5-8 guard poured in 15 points to lead the Norse and also was NKU’s top rebounder with eight boards, helping keep the League’s top rebounding margin team to a 35-27 deficit. White also added three steals to pace the team on the defensive end.
“I’m proud of Grace for not only her offensive effort, but her rebounding against a really tough Milwaukee team,” noted head coach Camryn Whitaker. “One of her goals, and ours as a team, was to really rebound and crash hard so I’m glad she was able to have a game where she had what she was working on along with creating and hitting open shots for herself. Against Green Bay, she also provided vital energy for the team from the bench and helped our guards see what was on the court to help us get the win. Once again, this is a great honor for our entire program as it’s a testament to how hard our players are working.”
After knocking off No. 19/20 Green Bay on Saturday afternoon in one of women’s college basketball’s biggest upsets of the year, the Norse hit the road to take on Detroit Mercy and Oakland. Tipoff against the Titans is set for 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 4, while the Golden Grizzlies will host an afternoon affair at 3 p.m. on Jan. 6.
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Chloe Smith
Assistant Athletic Communications Director
Northern Kentucky University