Youngstown State's Chelsea Olson extended her run of Horizon League Freshman-of-the-Week honors to four straight weeks, and she added an extra accolade this week as College Sports Madness named her the conference's player of the week.
Olson showcased her versatility by averaging 15 points, eight rebounds, 4.5 assists and three 3s in helping the Penguins to a pair of road wins last week. She set new career single-game highs in rebounds, assists, blocks and steals while tying her career high for 3s along the way.
The Westby, Wis., native was two assists shy of becoming just the second freshman in the country this season to post a triple-double when she filled the box score with 17 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and four blocks at UIC on Saturday. All of those totals were game highs, and she tied for game-high honors with three 3-pointers. Olson started the week with 13 points and three steals in a three-point win at IUPUI on Thursday. YSU is the only Horizon League team other than Green Bay to beat IUPUI this season.
Olson has helped the Penguins make a charge over the past four weeks as they have won six of their last seven games. Over that seven-game stretch, Olson has averaged team highs of 14 points and 7.6 rebounds while adding 3.6 assists per contest. For the year, Olson is averaging eight points and a team-best 4.1 rebounds per contest. Her .379 3-point field-goal percentage is the best on the squad, and her .420 field-goal percentage leads YSU's guards.
Youngstown State will play three of its final four games of the regular season at home, starting with Thursday's contest against Milwaukee. Tipoff against the Panthers is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN3.
