UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's basketball freshman Maddie Burke was named the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year in addition to earning a spot on the All-Freshman Team, while senior Johnasia Cash and sophomore Makenna Marisa both earned All-Big Ten accolades, the conference office announced Monday evening.
Additionally, graduate student Kelly Jekot was named Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Maddie Burke – Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year and All-Freshman Team
Freshman Maddie Burke was a consensus pick for both Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year and All-Freshman Team by both the coaches and the media, including a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team by the coaches.
Burke becomes just the second Penn State player to win the Big Ten's Sixth Player of the Year honor, joining former All-American and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Maggie Lucas as the only two Lady Lions to earn the accolade. Lucas won the award in 2011 as a freshman. Burke is also Penn State's first selection to the All-Freshman Team since former standout and 2,000-point scorer Teniya Page landed on the list in 2016.
Burke put together one of the finest rookie seasons in the country, proving to be a sharp-shooting threat from beyond the arc. She finished the regular season with 52 made three-pointers, which ranks tied for fifth amongst all Division I freshmen as of March 7. The 52 three-pointers are already tied for third on Penn State's freshman season three-point field goals made chart, with postseason still to come and an already shortened season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Burke wrapped up the regular season averaging 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, with marks of 8.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per Big Ten contest. The Doylestown, Pa. native drilled three or more triples in 10 games this season, including four games with five or more treys. She drained a career-best seven three-pointers against Maryland on Dec. 31. The rookie hit six three-pointers in back-to-back games at Iowa (Feb. 18) and Nebraska (Feb. 21), making her the first Penn State player to record back-to-back games with six or more three-pointers since Maggie Lucas.
Johnasia Cash – All-Big Ten – Second Team (media), Honorable Mention (coaches)
Senior Johnasia Cash made an immediate impact in her first season in Happy Valley to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors as selected by the media and honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as selected by the conference coaches.
Cash finished the season with 10 double-doubles, the fourth most of any Big Ten player, while averaging 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. The SMU transfer and McKeesport, Pa. native put up 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per Big Ten contest. Nine of her double-doubles came in Big Ten play.
Her 206 total rebounds led the conference, while her 9.0 rebounds per game ranked third amongst all Big Ten players. The forward also proved to be a key defensive presence, adding 1.2 steals per game and 1.0 blocks per contest. Cash finished the regular season with 17 double-figure scoring games, including three 20-plus point efforts.
Cash became the first Penn State player to record double-doubles in four-consecutive games since 1997 when she notched four-straight from Jan. 17-Feb. 4. Angie Potthoff was the last PSU player to accomplish the feat 24 years ago. She was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Feb. 8 after shooting 63.0 percent from the field while averaging 22.5 ppg and 11.5 rpg in wins over Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Cash's efficiency improved greatly in her first year under Head Coach Carolyn Kieger. She is shooting 47.5 percent (132-for-278) from the field this season and was a 36.0 percent (266-for-738) shooter in her three seasons at SMU.
Makenna Marisa – All-Big Ten – Honorable Mention (coaches and media)
Makenna Marisa put together a stellar sophomore season, consistently stuffing the stat sheet in nearly every category, to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as selected by both the conference coaches and media.
Marisa finished the regular season averaging 13.7 points, 5.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. She contributed 14.2 points per Big Ten contest. Her 115 assists this season rank third in the Big Ten and 22nd nationally.
Marisa tallied 15 double-digit scoring games, including a team-best six contests with 20 or more points. She led Penn State in assists in 16 games this season and led the Lady Lions in scoring a team-best seven times.
Marisa came close to a triple-double several times in her sophomore campaign, including Penn State's upset of #15 Ohio State (17 points, eight rebounds, eight assists), and an early-season road battle at #22 Syracuse (nine points, 11 rebounds, nine assists). Marisa's court vision grew as the season went along as she dished five or more assists in 10 of the final 11 games of the season.
The McMurray, Pa. native also proved to be a go-to player in clutch situations, hitting game-winning shots twice in her sophomore campaign. Marisa made what proved to be the game-winning layup in Penn State's 69-67 upset of #15 Ohio State on Feb. 24 after scoring the game-winning buzzer beater in a 70-69 win over Rhode Island on Dec. 3.
Kelly Jekot – Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree
Graduate student Kelly Jekot was putting together an All-Big Ten caliber campaign before suffering a season-ending injury in mid-January. Jekot was the team's leading scorer with 15.9 points per game at the time of her injury, led the team in minutes played and ranked second in rebounding with 6.8 boards per contest.
Jekot was relied upon as a key veteran leader for a youthful Penn State squad that ranks as the youngest team in the Big Ten and ninth youngest in the country. She chose to continue being a key leader on the team following her injury, sticking around to provide support and leadership to her teammates in games and practices.
The sportsmanship award is given to student-athletes from each Big Ten school who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. All recipients must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Big Ten Tournament Up Next
Penn State enters postseason play at this week's Big Ten Tournament. Tenth-seeded Penn State will receive a first-round bye and open up tournament action against seventh-seeded Michigan State Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The winner advances to take on second-seeded Indiana in Thursday's quarterfinals.
