Kelly Jekot (Villanova), Lauren Van Kleunen (Marquette) headline BIG EAST weekly honors

The BIG EAST weekly honors for week two of the season were announced earlier today. The conference named a Player of the Week, Freshman of the Week, and a five-player weekly honor roll for games played Tuesday-Sunday of last week.

Jekot got nods for her performance for Villanova, while redshirted freshman Van Kleunen from Marquette earned Freshman of the Week honors. Here is a recap of the awards:

Player of the Week: Kelly Jekot, Villanova

The sophomore guard posted a career-high 23 points to lead the Wildcats past Nationally ranked Duke Blue Devils.  On Sunday, Jekot went 7-of-9 from downtown. She scored 17 points in the second half to aid the Wildcats erase a six-point halftime deficit, and eventually lead by as many as 15 points. The 3-0 start for Nova is the first since 2013-14 when the Wildcats won their first seven games.

Freshman of the Week: Lauren Van Kleunen, Marquette

Van Kleunen made her college debut memorable by averaging 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games. She also tallied a .591 shooting average, including 50% from the 3-point arc. and a 50-percent clip from deep. She posted a team-high 23 points against New Mexico on Monday. Van Kleunen added 12 points and seven rebounds in Sunday’s 83-63 win over Loyola-Maryland.

The BIG EAST Conference also highlighted five other performances from week two:

BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

Ashton Millender, DePaul, Jr., G

Millender averaged 22 points,  3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists en route to an MVP performance at the 2017 Maggie Dixon Classic after scoring 27 points against Delaware State and 18 points against Saint Louis in a pair of games at DePaul’s new home, Wintrust Arena.

Jovana Nogic, Providence, Jr., G
Nogic dropped a career-high 31-point career in the Friars 98-95 victory over Northeastern, obliterating a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit in Tuesday’s win.

Cynthia Petke, Georgetown, Sr., F

The Hoyas went 2-1 in their first three games, thanks to the performance of senior Cynthia Petke.  She posted three double-doubles in as many games and averaged 15 points, 14.3 rebounds in the Hoyas’ opening week.

Tori Schickel, Butler, Jr., F/C
Reigning BIG EAST leader in double-doubles averaged 22.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals in two wins for the Bulldogs. Butler took its first 3-0 start since 1990-91 into a game with Lipscomb Monday night.

Akina Wellere, St. John’s, Jr., G
Wellere led the Red Storm to a win over William & Mary on Friday with 21 points, six assists, and four rebounds, connecting on all five of her attempts from the field in the third quarter, and all eight attempts from the stripe (6-of-12 on the night).