Seven Maryland women’s basketball players receive Big Ten honors

Seven Maryland women’s basketball players were honored with season awards by the Big Ten Monday afternoon.

The group is highlighted by sophomores Ashley Owusu and Diamond Miller each making the All-Big Ten First Team, as voted by both coaches and the media.

Senior guard Katie Benzan made the All-Big Ten Second Team, also voted by both parties. Forward Chloe Bibby and Mimi Collins were both named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selections, though Collins only made the media list. And though she was out a significant portion of the season, Angel Reese was named to the All-Freshman team by the media.

Additionally, Channise Lewis, who tore her ACL and Meniscus back in January, received a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Owusu, a unanimous selection, continues to rack in the accolades. Following the completion of the 2019-20 season, she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

This season, Owusu stepped into her starting spot and head coach Brenda Frese has referred to her as the “ultimate floor general” on multiple occasions.

Owusu had 10 games this season where she scored at least 20 points, and she had a career-high 34 point performance against Penn State on Dec. 31, 2020.

The sophomore guard led the team in points per game (18.7), field goals made per game (7.2) and assists per game (5.8). Her 5.8 assists are tied for the eighth-most in the country and second in the Big Ten.

Owusu is also one of five finalists for the 2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which honors the top shooting guard in the country.

Miller was also named to the top tier by both media and coaches after making a huge leap in her sophomore season.

As a freshman, Miller averaged 7.7 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.9 steals per game. She nearly doubled those numbers in 2020-21, averaging 17.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. The sophomore guard also leads the team in blocks with 19.

Miller had a career-high scoring performance against Towson, where she led the team with 28 points.

Benzan receives the second team honor after joining the program as a grad transfer from Harvard.

The guard leads the Terps in made three-pointers per game, averaging 3.6. Benzan’s 82 made triples are the fourth-most in the country and the second-most in the Big Ten behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, the Big Ten Freshman of the year.

However, Benzan’s three-point field goal percentage leads the country at 51.57%. Benzan attempted 159 shots from behind the arc during the regular season and made 82 of them.

When Maryland, the No. 1 scoring offense in the country, played Iowa, the then-No. 2 scoring offense in the country, Benzan set a program record by hitting nine threes in a single game. Benzan also hit her 1500th career point and shot 90% from behind the arc for a career-high 29 point performance in that game.

Bibby, named an honorable mention, has also made a big impact as a transfer after joining the team from Mississippi State. She averaged 13 points, 6.3 boards per game and had eight steals in her first season with the Terps.

On Jan. 18, the Australian native was named to the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Weekly Honor Roll after she averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and four assists in two road wins against Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Collins was also awarded an honorable mention, voted by the media.

The redshirt sophomore leads the teams on the boards, averaging 6.4 per game. On Jan. 17, Collins pulled in a career-high 17 rebounds on the road against Wisconsin.

She had three double-double performances this season, the most recent against Northwestern on Feb. 28. The 6-foot-3 forward recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds in that matchup.

Reese, the No. 2 recruit in the country, started in her first four games with the Terps, but about three two minutes into the game against Towson, she injured her foot and was expected to be out until March.

On Feb. 23 against Iowa, the freshman made an early reappearance on the court.

Reese averages 11 points, six boards and 1.6 blocks per game, enough to impress the media to make the freshmen team despite missing most of the season.