Astel earns D3hoops.com and MBWA honors
Stevens Institute of Technology graduate student
Kaitlyn Astel earned the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Division II-III Player of the Week award and was named to the
D3hoops.com Team of the Week for the week ending Jan. 22 after helping the Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team move into a first-place tie atop the league standings.
The graduate student averaged 24 points as Stevens went 3-0 with a home victory over Ithaca and road wins over Nazareth and St. John Fisher, as the Ducks improved to 8-7 on the season, and 7-1 in conference play. After opening her week with a 23-point, 18-rebound performance against the Bombers,, Astel closed out her week by scoring a school-record 36 points in a come-from-behind win against the Cardinals. The record-setting performance at St. John Fisher was the highest single-game total for any women's basketball player in the conference this season and was the second-highest mark for any E8 player. Ithaca's Marc Chasin tallied 39 against Purchase State on Nov. 19.
The high-scoring guard shot 26-for-47 (55%) from the field over the three games and shot a blistering 90% (18-for-20). In addition to her point totals, the reigning E8 Player of the Year totaled 26 rebounds, dished out eight assists, blocked three shots and had three steals. The 18 rebounds against Ithaca also marked a career-best effort.