Flaherty, Goree, Smith Garner Big Ten Honors
3/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2015
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Senior Cyesha Goree was named to the All-Big Ten second team by both the coaches and media, and freshman Katelynn Flaherty was named the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year and to the All-Big Ten freshman team to highlight the University of Michigan women's basketball team's Big Ten honors announced on Monday evening (March 2). Flaherty and senior Shannon Smith each picked up honorable mention from both the coaches and media.
Goree started all 29 games for the Maize and Blue this season, racking up 15 double-doubles while averaging 14.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. She was one of six Big Ten players to average a double-double this season. Goree's total of 312 rebounds is the second-highest season total in Michigan history, runner-up to her own school record of 317 that she set last season. The senior from Grand Rapids recorded just the third 20-point, 20-rebound game in program history when she went for 26 points and a career-best 20 rebounds in all 50 minutes of a double-overtime contest at Minnesota (Feb. 21). It is the second straight season that Goree has picked up second-team honors from both the coaches and media.
Flaherty is the first player in U-M history to earn Sixth Player of the Year honors and the first to be named to the all-freshman team since 2010. She is currently Michigan's leading scorer at 14.4 points per contest to make her the conference's third-leading freshman scorer. Flaherty has scored in double figures 22 times this season, including seven 20-point performances. She ranks eighth in the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (.397) and fifth in three-point field goals made (2.4/game). The freshman is fourth on Michigan's single-season list for three-pointers made at 71 and has had six games with at least five three-pointers. Flaherty is just the sixth player in school history to be named to the all-freshman team.
Smith, a starter in all 29 games, picked up honorable mention from both the coaches and media for the second straight season. Smith led Michigan in scoring during Big Ten contests at 15.7 points per game. For the year, Smith averaged 14.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while leading Michigan in assists (139) and steals (52). She scored a career-high 36 points against Ohio State (Jan. 11), which was the fourth-highest scoring game in school history. She has scored in double figures 20 times, including five 20-point games. She recorded two double-doubles on the season, a point-rebound double-double (26 points, 10 rebounds) against Wake Forest (Dec. 3) and a point-assist double-double (14 points, 10 assists) against Northwestern (Feb. 14), to become just the second player in school history to have one of each in a career.
Senior Nicole Elmblad was Michigan's Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree for the first time in her career. She averaged 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and was recently named to the Capital One Academic All-America third team. Elmblad has served as Michigan's captain the past two seasons.
Michigan is the No. 8 seed for the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. U-M will play No. 9 seed Michigan State on Thursday (March 5) at 11:30 a.m. CST. The game can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.
2014-15 ALL-BIG TEN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
| COACHES SELECTIONS First Team Second Team Honorable Mention All-Defensive Team All-Freshman Team Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Freshman of the Year Sixth Player of the Year Coach of the Year | MEDIA SELECTIONS First Team Second Team Honorable Mention Freshman of the Year Player of the Year Coach of the Year |
Unanimous selection in ALL CAPS
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