March 9, 2010

OXFORD, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced its annual postseason awards on Tuesday. After a fantastic rookie season, Courtney Osborn (Fishers, Ind.) was named the MAC Freshman of the Year. She was also named to the All-MAC Third Team and the All-MAC Freshman team, where she was joined by fellow RedHawk rookie Kirsten Olowinski (Erie, Pa.).

Osborn is the first MAC Freshman of the Year in Miami history. She and Olowinski are the first RedHawks to make the All-Freshman Team since Jenna Schone did it in 2006. The only other time in school history that Miami had two players on the All-Freshman Team was in 1992 when both Lisa Hayden and Monica Niemann received the honor.

Osborn has had not just the best freshman season in Miami history, but one of the best seasons overall in school history. She has been the RedHawks’ leading scorer in 17 of the team’s 30 contests, while averaging an impressive 16.8 points per game. The 503 points she has scored through 30 games ranks fifth on the Miami single-season scoring list. She is also adapting to her role as the starting point guard, averaging 4.1 assists per game. That included a career-high eight assists in the Jan. 30 game at Central Michigan.

Her career high in points came against Buffalo on Jan. 6 when she recorded the 19th 30-point effort in RedHawk history. That performance featured 11-for-17 shooting, including 5-for-8 from the three-point line. Other top performances included scoring 29 against Miami (Jan. 2), 26 against Wright State (Dec. 9), 25 against Appalachian State (Nov. 28) and 23 against Bowling Green (Mar. 2).

“Courtney is a great player,” said head coach Maria Fantanarosa. “She is hard working, competitive and a student of the game. She has taken on a lot of responsibility as a freshman point guard and has led our team on both ends of the court. This is a good honor for Courtney and a positive sign for the future of our program.”

Osborn was previously honored as MAC East Division Player of the Week on Nov. 30. She has 71 three-point baskets, which leads the team and ranks fifth on the Miami single-season list. She also leads the team with 74 steals, which is just outside the top-10 on the RedHawk single-season list.

Olowinski has really come on strong the second half of the season. After coming off the bench for most games during the first half of the year, the coaching staff decided to move her into the starting lineup against Western Michigan (Feb. 6). She rewarded their decision by recording a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Broncos. It was her second double-double of the season, as she had previously had a double-double on Dec. 12 against Dayton when she scored 13 points and brought in 10 boards.

She wasn’t done there as in the very next game she recorded her second consecutive double-double, putting in 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds against Eastern Michigan (Feb. 10). The 18 rebounds were the most for any RedHawk player this season. In the last game of the regular season against Bowling Green (Mar. 2) she had her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 17 rebounds.

Olowinski had another great performance in the MAC First Round game against Northern Illinois (Mar. 6). She scored 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting while bringing in seven rebounds. She is fifth on the team in scoring with 7.4 points per game and is tied for the team lead in rebounding with 6.0 caroms per game. Olowinski leads the team and is fourth in the MAC with 41 blocks, the fifth-best single season block total in Miami history.

“Kirsten is very deserving of this award,” said Fantanarosa. “She is a versatile player who can dominate inside and out on offense. Her unselfish play and work ethic made her rebounding and shot blocking a huge key to our January and February team development. She has huge upside for the years to come!”

The eighth-seeded RedHawks will take on the top seeded Bowling Green Falcons in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament on Wednesday. The game will begin at approximately 4 p.m. in the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

2010 MAC Awards

Player of the Year – Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green

Freshman of the Year – Courtney Osborn, Miami

Sixth Player of the Year – Rachel Tecca, Akron

Defensive Player of the Year – Kourtney Brown,Buffalo

Coach of the Year – Jodi Kest, Akron

First Team

Lauren Prochaska, Bowling Green

Kourtney Brown, Buffalo

Tavelyn James, Eastern Michigan

Jamilah Humes, Kent State

Tanika Mays, Toledo

Second Team

Kara Murphy, Akron

Emily Maggert, Ball State

Tracy Pontius, Bowling Green

Marke Freeman, Northern Illinois

Naama Shafir, Toledo

Third Team

Britni Houghton, Central Michigan

Shonda Long, Central Michigan

Kaihla Szunko, Central Michigan

Taisja Jones, Kent State

Courtney Osborn, Miami

Honorable Mention

Kyle Baumgartner, Akron

Audrey McDonald, Ball State

Jennifer Bushby, Ohio

Melissa Goodall, Toledo

Miame Giden, Western Michigan

All-Freshman

Rachel Tecca, Akron

Abby Dowd , Buffalo,

Rachel Mauk, Central Michigan

Kirsten Olowinski, Miami

Courtney Osborn, Miami

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