Skeens collects national honor for second time this season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - University of Rio Grande senior Ella Skeens was recently named the NAIA National Women’s Basketball Player of the Week.
Skeens was selected for her performance from Jan. 23 through Jan. 29 and was selected out of a pool of conference/group award winners.
By doing so, Skeens becomes the first Rio Grande athlete - in any sport - to win a national Player of the Week award twice in the same season. She's also the school's first two-time winner of the award, whether in the same season or not.
The Chillicothe native, who was named the River States Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday, put up video game-like numbers in a pair of wins for the 13th-ranked RedStorm last week.
Skeens' hot week included a school-record 50 points in a 99-59 win over Asbury (Ky.) University and a follow-up performance of 42 points against Indiana University East.
Skeens also averaged 9.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 82 percent from the field and 88 percent from the foul line (14-for-16).
Skeens connected on 19 of 21 field goals - also a single-game school record for field goals made - against Asbury. All but one of her makes was from inside the three-point arc. She was also 11-for-13 at the foul line and made it a double-double with 12 rebounds
Skeens then scored 42 points in just 27 minutes of action against IU East - a 105-66 victory. She made another 17 of 23 shots, which included 5-for-7 from distance, while also tallying six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Skeens, who earlier this season surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career in just her second season with the RedStorm, currently leads the country with 218 made field goals, while ranking second nationally in points scored (557) and third in scoring average per game (24.2).
For the season, Skeens is shooting 53.4 percent overall (218-for-408), 43.5 percent from three-point range (27-for-62) and 82.5 percent from the free throw line (94-for-114).
She also averages 8.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game for the RedStorm, who will take a 20-3 record overall and an 11-1 mark in River States Conference play.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Skeens collects national honor for second time this season
