Maryland women’s basketball’s Kaila Charles named First Team All-Big Ten

Kaila Charles was named First Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media, the conference announced Monday.

The sophomore guard stepped up into the go-to scoring role after averaging 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last season, and her 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this year are currently team highs. Her scoring average is currently the highest for a sophomore in program history.

Although she wasn’t named to the conference’s all-defensive team, Charles was the team’s best defender and consistently tasked with stopping the opponent’s best player. She helped hold fellow First Team All-Big Ten selections Megan Gustafson, Kelsey Mitchell, Katelynn Flaherty and Tyler Scaife well below their scoring averages.

Ieshia Small was also recognized by the conference Monday, and was selected Sixth Player of the Year by the coaches. The redshirt senior came off the bench last year, but emerged as a better scoring option this season, averaging 9.2 points per game. She’s the second Maryland player to win the honor in three seasons, as Brene Mosely took the award in 2016.

Senior Kristen Confroy and junior Eleanna Christinaki were named all-conference honorable mentions by both the media and coaches.

The Terps are back in action Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis, where they will take on either Indiana or Michigan State.