Oluchi Okananwa headlines Maryland women’s basketball’s all-conference honorees
In her first year with Maryland women’s basketball after transferring from Duke, Oluchi Okananwa took home first-team All-Big Ten and all-defensive honors from both the media and the league’s coaches.
The guard averaged 17.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game in a regular season where she proved to be Maryland’s heartbeat on both ends of the floor. Okananwa’s ability as a tenacious defensive player translates directly into her offense — multiple times a game, she can tear past defenders with lightning speed in transition.
Okananwa was pegged as a starter from the jump for Maryland, but she was thrust into a bigger role after Kaylene Smikle and Lea Bartelme went down with season-ending knee injuries early in the season.
The team’s other offseason transfer, Yarden Garzon, was named third-team All-Big Ten by the conference’s coaches and named as an honorable mention by the panel of media voters.
Garzon takes a league leading 7.3 3-pointers per game and shoots 39.1% (11th in the conference) on those attempts. Frese has also utilized Garzon’s immense stamina. SHe has played over 32 minutes per game, including multiple key games where she has played all 40.
She ended the regular season averaging 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per contest.
Freshman guard Addi Mack was also named to the conference’s eight woman all-freshman team after becoming a regular starter in her first year of college basketball in College Park.
Mack averaged 11 points on over 42% from the field, also stepping up to fill in for Maryland’s missing guards.
The Terps other honoree was graduate student Saylor Poffenbarger, often called the team’s “glue” by head coach Brenda Frese, who brought home a sportsmanship award.
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