(Editor's note: University of Providence press releases)
WHITEFISH—University of Providence women's basketball player Emilee Maldonado was named the Erck Hotels Frontier Conference Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
Maldonado was a massive reason why the #18 Argos (18-3, 5-1) took down No. 6 Carroll College and No. 15 Rocky Mountain College last week. The senior from Sunnyside, Wash. led the team in scoring both nights, recording 17 points against the Fighting Saints and 16 points against the Battlin' Bears.
"When you think of Emilee you think of calm, cool and collected," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "She runs our offense, takes care of the basketball and makes big shots when you need it. She did all those things for us which is why we got big wins."
The Frontier Conference Preseason Player of the Year is living up to hype this season, averaging a team-high 16.5 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game while also pulling down nearly five boards a night. She is shooting 41.8% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc on the year.
"She's going to do whatever it takes to try and get us the win," Himmelberg said. "If it's scoring points, getting rebounds, assists or steals - whatever she needs to do to give us a chance to win, she'll do it. She's a winner and that's what winners do. She makes the people around her that much better. It's nice to see her be able to do that."
As valuable as her on-court play is, her leadership might even be better. Combined with teammate Parker Esary, the two were able to keep the team focused prior to both Top 25 showdowns.
"She is an amazing leader," Himmelberg said. "Her and Parker both, they just work so well together. The team responds so well to them. The team just cares about each other a lot. That makes a big difference. It's been fun watching her grow from the time she came as a freshman until now."
Maldonado and the Argos will return to action on Jan. 20 with a road game up north to MSU-Northern. The game will tip-off at 5:00 p.m.
Howard named Frontier Conference Player of the Week
WHITEFISH—In only his second full week with the program, University of Providence men's basketball player Brendan Howard was named the Erck Hotels Frontier Conference Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
Howard, who transferred to the team at semester from North Dakota, averaged 27.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last week for the Argos (10-8, 2-4), as the team fell to No. 6 Carroll College on Thursday before defeating Rocky Mountain College on Saturday.
"He had an outstanding week," head coach Steve Keller said. "We got him in some good situations and his teammates got him the ball when he was open. He's a very capable scorer so we need to take advantage of that and I thought we did that this weekend."
In three games this season, Howard is averaging 23.5 points and seven rebounds a game while shooting 50% from the field.
Keller was pleased with the chemistry between him and senior guard Marcus Stephens, who has been named the Player of the Week three times this season. The duo both scored over 30 points on Saturday in the win over the Battlin' Bears.
"Both our guys played phenomenal," Keller said. "It's a credit to the team that he fits in so easily. The more practice and games we get to play the better that we're going to be."
Howard and the Argos will return to the court on Thursday, Jan. 20 with a 7:00 p.m. road matchup against MSU-Northern.
