Austin, Mikesell Garner Weekly Big Ten Honors

ROSEMONT Ill. – Freshmen Shakira Austin and Taylor Mikesell of the ninth-ranked Maryland women's basketball both picked up weekly honors from the Big Ten, after leading the Terrapins (15-1, 4-1 B1G) to a pair of wins in league play this week.

Austin earned her fifth Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor and Mikesell was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll.

Austin averaged 10.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocks in just her fourth and fifth career games in conference play. Against Michigan Saturday, Austin made her presence known from the tip, winning the jump ball, then picking up the Terps' first bucket, a block, a steal and a rebound in the opening 90 seconds.

With the Terrapins down by six with 3:08 left in the third quarter, she scored back-to-back buckets through contact for old-fashioned three-point plays. Her five quick points and three defensive rebounds to close the quarter jumpstarted an 18-4 Maryland run that bridged the quarters and sealed the Terps' third straight win. At Nebraska Tuesday, Austin scored seven points with a team-high 10 boards, including two buckets and six boards in the Terps' second half push to pull away.

Mikesell played well beyond just her 14th and 15th career games in leading the Terrapins to a pair of wins over teams in the top half of the league. She led Maryland with 16.5 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds per game this week. She shot 52 percent from the field and 47 percent from outside the arc with seven threes made.

At Nebraska, she hit four threes and scored seven of her 16 points in the fourth quarter to seal the road win. Against Michigan Saturday, she led the Terrapins with 17 points, 10 of them in the Terps' late third quarter push that went into the fourth quarter to seal the win. Mikesell has hit 2 or more threes in 13 of 16 games, including the last nine straight games.

Austin is second in the Big Ten in blocks with 48 this year and is third in the league in rebounding with 11.3 per game. Mikesell leads the Terrapins in minutes with 35 per game and leads the Big Ten in threes made with 50 so far this season.

Next, the Terrapins will take on #17/24 Michigan State (12-3, 2-2) Thursday at 6 p.m. in East Lansing.

The Terps-Spartans game will be televised around the world on the Big Ten Network. Click here for your channel number for BTN. Fans can also watch the Maryland-Michigan matchup at BTN2Go.com and the BTN2Go app with their cable login information. Fans outside the U.S. can watch here. Live stats will also be available.

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Players Mentioned

Shakira Austin

Taylor Mikesell

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