ROSEMONT, Ill.- The Big Ten Conferences announces postseason awards on Tuesday afternoon. Sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller highlights the Penn State representation, earning a spot on All-Big Ten second team as voted by the media and third team by the coaches. Redshirt junior center Gracie Merkle was named to third team All-Big Ten by the media. Senior guard Vitória Santana is the PSU Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient.
McMiller shined throughout her sophomore campaign, compiling her best performances in the month of February. Throughout the season, she produced 27 double figure scoring outings including 16 with 20-or-more points and seven 30-point performances. The Silver Spring, Md. native also led the Lady Lions in assists in 20 contests and gathered nine double-doubles. During a six-game stretch spanning from Purdue to USC, McMiller averaged 34.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game. She produced six-straight 30-point performances, matching Caitlin Clark’s record for six consecutive in 2023-24. The dynamic guard surpassed the 1,000-career point threshold against USC on Feb. 25 with a career best 40 points. McMiller currently sits fourth all-time at Penn State in points scored in a sophomore season with 627 and second in career 30-point games with 10.
Merkle continued her offensive dominance throughout her second year in Happy Valley. She finished the season with 500 points enroute to 1,402 career points. The redshirt junior center produced career numbers at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament against Princeton. She put up a career high 39 points on a personal best 19 field goals made against the Tigers while also surpassing 1,000 career points.
Santana has been a key component to the Lady Lion program throughout her two seasons in Happy Valley. The Brazil native played in 45 games and started in six while combining for 104 points, 71 rebounds, 55 assists and 17 steals throughout her collegiate career.