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NKU women voted sixth in Horizon League preseason poll; McDonald receives prestigious honor


NKyTribune staff

The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team is picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League preseason poll, and Norse junior guard Molly Glick has been selected to the preseason first team.

NKU head coach Camryn Whitaker (right) and junior guard Molly Glick (24) are seeking to improve on last season’s 9-22 record. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)

Reigning Horizon League champion Green Bay received 28 of the 29 possible first-place votes to earn the favorite’s role. The Phoenix topped the poll with 286 points, followed by IUPUI with 245 points and Wright State with 226 points.

Rounding out the top five in the poll are Youngstown State (184 points) and Milwaukee (165 points).

NKU (152), Oakland (117), Cleveland State (99), Detroit Mercy (65) and Illinois-Chicago (56) complete the preseason poll.

IUPUI’s Macee Williams was voted the preseason Player of the Year after being named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year in 2017-18.

This marks the first time Glick has been selected to a preseason team. The Fostoria, Ohio, native led the Norse in scoring a season ago with 12.4 points per game, and she was second on the team with 34 steals. Glick ranked third in the Horizon League in 3-pointers made, sinking an average of 2.1 shots per game from long distance.

A year ago, NKU posted a 9-22 overall record. The Norse finished 6-12 in the Horizon League, but one of the victories was a stunning 62-54 upset over nationally ranked Green Bay at BB&T Arena.

NKU begins the regular season Nov. 7 with a home game against Alderson Broaddus at 7 p.m.

2018-19 Horizon League women’s basketball preseason poll
Pl. School (1st-place) – Points
1. Green Bay (28) – 286
2. IUPUI – 245
3. Wright State – 226
4. Youngstown State (1) – 184
5. Milwaukee – 165
6. Northern Kentucky – 152
7. Oakland – 117
8. Cleveland State – 99
9. Detroit Mercy – 65
10. Illinois-Chicago — 56

McDONALD EARNS PRESTIGIOUS HONOR: The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Thursday afternoon that NKU’s Drew McDonald is one of 20 candidates for the 2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.

NKU’s Drew McDonald is one of 20 candidates for the 2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)

The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is named in honor of former Louisiana Tech and 19-year NBA veteran Karl Malone, who is regarded as one of the best power forwards in the game. The award is part of the Naismith Starting 5, a series of awards presented to all five traditional positions in basketball.

In addition to the Karl Malone Power Forward Award, the Naismith Hall of Fame also distributes the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award.

“This is a tremendous honor for Drew to be named among college basketball’s elite power forwards and I couldn’t be more excited for him,” said NKU head coach John Brannen. “From the moment he set foot on campus, Drew has shown an incredible desire to continue improving his game and to find ways to elevate the play of our team. This honor is representative of that commitment.”

McDonald has steadily improved throughout his career at NKU, building on averages of 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game as a freshman to 16.4 points and 7.7 rebounds as a sophomore and, most recently, 17.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game during his junior campaign. The Cold Spring native has been a double-double machine in his career, racking up 34 double-doubles in 97 career games played.

Last season, McDonald registered 18 double-doubles, a total that ranked 11th in the nation.

McDonald was also recently named the Horizon League preseason Player of the Year for the second year in a row and selected for the same preseason honor by Mid-Major Madness.

2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Candidates
Yoeli Childs, BYU
Zion Williamson, Duke
Juwan Morgan, Indiana
Dedric Lawson, Kansas
Dean Wade, Kansas St
Reid Travis, Kentucky
P.J. Washington, Kentucky
Jordan Murphy, Minnesota
Jordan Brown, Nevada
Luke Maye, North Carolina
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
Chris Silva, South Carolina
Mike Daum, South Dakota State
Grant Williams, Tennessee
Devontae Cacok, UNCW
Bennie Boatwright, USC
Simisola Shittu, Vanderbilt
Eric Paschall, Villanova
Noah Dickerson, Washington
Sagaba Konate, West Virginia

(Information compiled from NKU Athletics Communications and staff reports)


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