February 26, 2018 | Women's Basketball
ROSEMONT – Fighting Illini junior Alex Wittinger was named to the 2018 All-Big Ten Second Team on Monday as announced on the Big Ten Network. Redshirt sophomore Cydnee Kinslow was also recognized by the league as Illinois' Sportsmanship Award honoree.
The all-conference recognition marks the third career league honor for Wittinger as she was also named to the 2016 All-Big Ten Freshman Team and she was a 2017 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
A 6-foot-1 forward from Delano, Minnesota, Wittinger was chosen as an All-Big Ten Second Team honoree by both the league's coaches and media. She leads the Illini in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg) this season, and is also among Illinois' all-time single-season leaders for her 72 blocked shots on the year. Wittinger's 2.4 rejections per game this season rank third among all Big Ten players and among the top 25 players in the country.
Wittinger has tallied 12 double-doubles for the Illini this season, and also carded the program's second-ever triple double with an 18 point, 10 rebound and 11 block-performance at Penn State (Jan. 23). The 11 blocked shots set a new Illinois' single-game record and mark the sixth-most in a Big Ten game in conference history.
With today's Sportsmanship Award nod, Kinslow earns the first conference recognition of her career. A 6-foot-2 forward from Oakley, California, Kinslow has made 11 appearances in the Orange and Blue this year, and knocked down her first-career field goal against Indiana State (Dec. 7). The students chosen for the Sportsmanship Award are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
The Big Ten announced two sets of postseason honors on Monday, one group as voted on by the conference head coaches, and a second group as elected by select members of the media. Both voting groups elected a first team and a second team of 10 players each, as well as a Player of the Year, a Freshman of the Year and a Coach of the Year. Additionally, the coaches decided on an All-Defensive Team and an All-Freshman Team, both featuring five players, as well as a Defensive Player of the Year and a Sixth Player of the Year.
The full All-Big Ten release can be found here.
Illinois is the No. 14-seed in the 2018 Big Ten Tournament and is set to face No. 11-seed Penn State at approximately 3 p.m. CT Wednesday. Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois women's basketball.
