INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI senior Macee Williams has been named the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Player of the Year for the fourth straight season. Northern Kentucky’s Grayson Rose earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Green Bay’s Bailey Butler picked up the Freshman of the Year and Sixth Player of the Year awards for the Phoenix. Youngstown State’s John Barnes is the Coach of the Year as the Penguins earned a share of the #HLWBB regular season title for the first time. All awards were voted on by the League’s head coaches.
Williams is the first four-time Player of the Year in League history. The graduate senior center averaged 18.3 points and 10.9 rebounds in League contests this season, first among #HLWBB players in both categories. Williams also paced the League in field goal percentage in League contests, shooting 62.7 percent from the floor as she also received All-League First Team recognition for the fourth time.
Rose is the Defensive Player of the Year this season, earning her second All-Defensive Team honor. The graduate senior post led the League with 2.5 blocks in League games this season, adding 9.4 rebounds in those contests.
Butler is the Horizon League Sixth Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year this season. The rookie averaged 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals in #HLWBB games this season and led the League in Freshman of the Week honors while starting in just one game for the Phoenix.
John Barnes was chosen the Horizon League Coach of Year, leading the Penguins to a share of the League regular season title and an 18-4 League record. This is the first Horizon League Coach of the Year honor for Barnes.
Joining Williams on the All-League First Team are Cleveland State’s Destiny Leo, Green Bay’s Hailey Oskey, Milwaukee’s Megan Walstad and Youngstown State’s Lilly Ritz. Leo scored 17.8 points per game and shot 42.3 percent in League play, leading the Vikings to a top-four seed. Oskey totaled 14.2 points and 1.7 three-point field goals per game in #HLWBB contests for the No. 3 seed Phoenix. Walstad earned her second All-League First Team honor and also added her second consecutive All-Defensive Team honor this season as she scored 14.7 points and hauled in 9.4 rebounds, along with 1.6 blocks, in League play. In her first season with the Penguins, Ritz ranked second in #HLWBB play with 17.8 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 59.3 percent, also earning All-Defensive Team recognition.
IUPUI’s Rachel McLimore, Northern Kentucky’s Lindsey Duvall and Ivy Turner, UIC’s Jaida McCloud and Youngstown State’s Chelsea Olson compose the All-League Second Team. McLimore averaged 12.9 points and 2.9 assists in League play for the Jags this season, also picking up All-Defensive Team honors. Duvall totaled 15.8 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Norse in #HLWBB games while Turner posted 12.9 points and 4.1 assists in those contests. McCloud led the Flames and ranked fourth in the League with 17.1 points per #HLWBB game. Olson paced the League with 5.3 assists and a 2.3 assist-turnover ratio in conference play, adding 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds to earn All-League honors for the fourth straight season.
Cleveland State’s Nadia Dumas (12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds), IUPUI’s Rachel Kent (2.5 three-point field goals per game, 43.1 percent shooting from three-point range), Oakland’s Kahlaijah Dean (13.2 points, 2.1 assists), Purdue Fort Wayne’s Shayla Sellers (12.4 points, 1.1 blocks, 1.6 steals) and RMU’s Esther Castedo (11.3 points, 2.0 steals) comprise the All-League Third Team.
Green Bay’s Maddy Schreiber, NKU’s Khamari Mitchell-Steen, Oakland’s Kendall Folley and Purdue Fort Wayne’s Ryin Ott earned All-Freshman recognition this season along with Butler.
Youngstown State junior Mady Aulbach joins McLimore, Walstad, Rose and Ritz on the All-Defensive Team.
The 2022 Keeps Horizon League Basketball Championships will begin March 1 and 3 at campus sites and eight teams – four men and four women – will look to advance to Indianapolis and #REACHtheHORIZON on March 7-8 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
Every game of the championship will be carried on ESPN networks with the first three rounds of the Keeps Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship streamed on ESPN+ and the championship game broadcast on ESPNU.
First-round action begins on Tuesday, March 1 with four games as No. 5 seed Northern Kentucky hosts No. 12 seed Detroit Mercy, No. 6 seed Milwaukee takes on No. 11 seed UIC, No. 7 seed Oakland battles No. 10 seed Wright State and No. 8 seed RMU welcomes No. 9 seed Purdue Fort Wayne.
On Thursday, March 3, the top four seeds will host quarterfinal matchups for a chance to advance to Indianapolis for the semifinals. All four matchups will be set on Tuesday night after the first round concludes.
For complete information on the 2022 Keeps Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championships, visit HorizonLeague.com/Indy.
2021-22 #HLWBB All-League Awards
Player of the Year: Macee Williams, IUPUI
Coach of the Year: John Barnes, Youngstown State
Freshman of the Year: Bailey Butler, Green Bay
Defensive Player of the Year: Grayson Rose, Northern Kentucky
Sixth Player of the Year: Bailey Butler, Green Bay
All-League First Team (alphabetical by school)
Destiny Leo, Cleveland State, Sophomore, Guard
Hailey Oskey, Green Bay, Junior, Guard
Macee Williams, IUPUI, Graduate Senior, Center
Megan Walstad, Milwaukee, Redshirt Sophomore, Forward
Lilly Ritz, Youngstown State, Senior, Forward
All-League Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Rachel McLimore, IUPUI, Senior, Guard
Lindsey Duvall, Northern Kentucky, Senior, Guard
Ivy Turner, Northern Kentucky, Junior, Guard
Jaida McCloud, UIC, Sophomore, Guard/Forward
Chelsea Olson, Youngstown State, Senior, Guard
All-League Third Team (alphabetical by school)
Nadia Dumas, Cleveland State, Redshirt-Senior, Forward
Rachel Kent, IUPUI, Sophomore, Guard
Kahlaijah Dean, Oakland, Senior, Guard
Shayla Sellers, Purdue Fort Wayne, Junior, Guard/Forward
Esther Castedo, RMU, Senior, Guard
All-Freshman Team (alphabetical by school)
Bailey Butler, Green Bay, Guard
Maddy Schreiber, Green Bay, Forward
Khamari Mitchell-Steen, Northern Kentucky, Guard
Kendall Folley, Oakland, Point Guard
Ryin Ott, Purdue Fort Wayne, Guard
All-Defensive Team (alphabetical by school)
Rachel McLimore, IUPUI, Senior, Guard
Megan Walstad, Milwaukee, Redshirt Sophomore, Forward
Grayson Rose, Northern Kentucky, Graduate Senior, Post
Mady Aulbach, Youngstown State, Junior, Guard
Lilly Ritz, Youngstown State, Senior, Forward
