The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named Tennessee freshman cager Shekinna Stricklen its national Freshman of the Year on Wednesday. Stricklen becomes the first Lady Vol to earn the prestigious honor from the USBWA.
Stricklen started in all 32 games she played in as a rookie and led the Lady Vols with 13.3 ppg, 3.0 apg and was second on the team with 5.9 rpg this season. Stricklen, along with classmate Glory Johnson, became the 11th and 12th Lady Vols to start their first career game in the Orange and White.
“I am very excited and honored to have been named the Freshman of the Year,” said Stricklen. “I want to thank my teammates and coaches for pushing me every day to be the best I could be. Without them, I could not have achieved such an incredible award.
“I am extremely blessed to be able to play basketball at Tennessee, as it has always been my dream,” commented Stricklen. “There are so many great players in women’s collegiate hoops that this is truly a special honor.”
Stricklen was selected to the Second Team All-Southeastern Conference and was a unanimous selection to the All-SEC Freshman Team. The Morrilton, Ark., native scored in double-digits 21 times, including four games in which she scored at least 20 points. Stricklen twice earned SEC Freshman of the Week. The first league accolade came after she led Tennessee past No. 3/4-ranked Stanford with 25 points, including eight of UT’s 11 overtime points. Stricklen was again honored by the conference after averaging 14 points and 8.5 rebounds in a pair of road wins over Gonzaga and No. 15/14-ranked Rutgers. Against the Scarlet Knights, she scored 13 of her team-high 16 points and grabbed six of her game-high 11 rebounds in the second half to lead a 23-point comeback victory.
“I am truly excited for Shekinna as she is very deserving of being named the USBWA Freshman of the Year,” said Head Coach Pat Summitt. “She works incredibly hard every day and her development through the year was excellent. I cannot imagine us not having her this season as her offensive skill set was incredibly important to our success.
“She is determined to get better and I am very glad we have her at Tennessee,” added Summitt.
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