Several Buckeyes Bring Home Conference Honors
Ohio State was well represented on Tuesday when the Big Ten released conference awards following the conclusion of the women’s basketball regular season.
Ohio State guard Taylor Mikesell was named first-team All-Big Ten, while forward Cotie McMahon and guard Taylor Thierry were second-team All-Big Ten. McMahon was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, while Thierry was voted to the all-defensive team by the conference’s coaches.
Mikesell earned her second first-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging a team-high 17.3 points this season along with 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 42.7 percent shooting, including 40.6 percent shooting from deep.
McMahon, meanwhile, has started all 29 games for the Buckeyes this season, averaging 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 51.7 percent shooting. While McMahon has been in the starting lineup all season, she’s taken on an increased emphasis in the later half of the year following a season-ending injury to guard Madison Greene and a lower-leg injury that has kept guard Jacy Sheldon out for most of the season.
She’s surpassed double-digit scoring in 19 games while eclipsing the 20-point plateau on 11 occasions, including a career-high 30 points in Ohio State’s overtime win over South Florida on Dec. 20.
McMahon becomes the 10th player in Ohio State history to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, joining Lisa Cline (1986), Tracey Hall (1985), Averrill Roberts (1990), Katie Smith (1993), LaToya Turner (2000), Jessica Davenport (2004), Jantel Lavender (2008), Samantha Prahalis (2009) and Kelsey Mitchell (2015).
Thierry has seen a jump in her sophomore season, averaging 13.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game on team-leading 62.8 percent shooting. She was also named Ohio State’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. Ohio State guard Rikki Harris and forward Rebeka Mikulášiková were also named conference honorable mentions by media voting.
Elsewhere in the conference, Indiana’s Teri Moren was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.