NCAA Women: Alicia Froling rewrites the record books
There were several excellent performances by Australians, but this week no doubt belonged to Alicia Froling. The sophomore forward set two school records and also compiled career-high's in scoring and rebounding on her way to leading SMU to victory against Cincinnati. Elsewhere, the freshmen had a week to remember, with Courtney Woods, Megan McKay, and Rachel Brewster all producing top-notch performances.
(Feature image credit: Vladimir Cherry via SMU Athletics)
Alicia Froling rewrote the SMU record book with an utterly inspired performance as the Mustangs came away with a 73-55 victory over Cincinnati. Having compiled a double-double inside the first quarter, Froling went on to produce the first 30 point, 20 rebound performance in SMU history. The sophomore finished with a career-high 33 points on 13/26 shooting and a school-record 22 rebounds, as well as 3 blocks just for good measure. With Steph Collins notching 10 points and 6 rebounds, and Keely Froling chipping in 6 points, the Australian trio all had reason to be happy with their own performances as the Mustangs continued to put together a healthy record.
Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go as well in SMU’s second game of the week, going down 66-48 to nationally ranked South Florida. However, all three Aussies had meaningful contributions. Collins tallied 6 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, whilst Alicia Froling collected 9 rebounds to go with 4 points, and Keely Froling finished with 6 points and 6 rebounds in a valiant effort against a heavily favoured opponent. Naturally, Alicia Froling finished the week by being named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for her performance against Cincinnati for the 5th time this season.
https://twitter.com/SMUBasketballW/status/692533997033951233
Northern Illinois split their games this week, but it could have been a whole lot worse if not for the performances of Courtney Woods. The freshman notched double figures in both games in perhaps her best week of the season. In a 95-85 loss to Kent State, Woods shot 6/10 from the field on her way to 16 points, before coming up against the Australian quartet at Buffalo. Woods put up another 14 points, and also contributed 3 assists and two steals as the Huskies won a nail-biter, 76-74. For the Bulls, Katherine Ups was the best performed of the four Aussies, with 10 points and 3 rebounds.
Megan McKay forced her way into the starting five at Saint Mary’s a few weeks ago, and continued to prove that she deserves the spot this week. In a dominant performance in the paint for the Gaels in an 83-75 victory over Pacific. In a back-and-forth game that saw four Aussies put in notable performances, McKay was the pick of the bunch with 16 points on 6/9 shooting as well as 7 rebounds. Lauren Nicholson wasn’t far behind, with 14 points and 8 rebounds of her own, whilst Carly Turner added 7 points. Emily Simons was one of Pacific’s best, tallying 11 points for the Tigers.
Nicole Seekamp once again demonstrated her all-round qualities for South Dakota, leading the Coyotes to a pair of victories. South Dakota demolished Western Illinois 102-77 and Seekamp was at her scintillating best. The senior point guard finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points on 7/14 field goal shooting and contributing 10 assists and 5 steals. The Coyotes’ second game of the week saw them come up against Marena Whittle and North Dakota State in a battle of two of the top performing Aussies this season. With Jasmine Trimboli also contributing for South Dakota, this game saw all three Aussies put in solid performances, but South Dakota cruised to an 80-54 win. Seekamp shot 8/11 for 17 points and also tallied 4 assists with 3 steals. Trimboli made a solid contribution off the bench, picking up 8 points, whilst Whittle was one of the better performed North Dakota State players, notching 15 points and 6 rebounds.
https://twitter.com/SDCoyotesWBB/status/693593040812797953
The Australian pair at Utah State continued their good form of recent weeks, but Rachel Brewster may actually have outperformed star point guard Funda Nakkasoglu. The Australians comprised two of the three Utah State players to put up 20 or more points in a 79-66 comeback victory over Nevada as the Aggies stormed home in the second half after falling behind early. Nakkasoglu was off the mark from the field, shooting just 5/20, however she made 9/10 from the line on her way to a 20 point total with 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Brewster also scored 20 points, but did so at a highly efficient 7/9 from the field. She also added 8 rebounds and 4 assists as the young Victorian keeps her name well and truly in the conversation for top Aussie freshman this season.
Geraldine McCorkell continued to prove herself to be one of Idaho’s top players with two solid all-round performances as the Vandals picked up two wins from two. In a high-scoring game against Sacramento State, McCorkell shot 6/9 for 13 points and also chipped in with 6 rebounds and 5 assists as Idaho outgunned their opponents 98-88. The Vandals kept up their scoring output against Portland State, but this time there was no such response as Idaho ran out 94-65 victors, with McCorkell scoring 16 points with 7 rebounds. Tayla Corrigan also added 8 points in the 29 point win.