ROSEMONT – Fighting Illini senior Alex Wittinger was recognized by the Big Ten Conference on Monday afternoon as she was named to the 2019 All-Big Ten Second Team and earned All-Defensive Team honors. Junior Ali Andrews was also recognized by the league as Illinois' Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Wittinger has now been named to the All-Big Ten Second Team twice in her career, and the All-Defensive recognition marks the first for the Delano, Minnesota native. She was also named to the 2016 All-Big Ten Freshman Team and was a 2017 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
A 6-foot-1 forward, Wittinger was chosen as an All-Big Ten Second Team honoree by both the league's coaches and media. She leads the Orange and Blue in several categories including scoring (15.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg). She has recorded 71 blocked shots this season, which ranks fifth on Illinois' single-season list and fourth in the Big Ten. Her 270 career blocked shots rank second all-time at Illinois as well. She has accumulated 10 double-doubles this season, and recorded a new career-best of 32 points against Sacramento State (Nov. 24).
With today's Sportsmanship Award nod, Andrews earns the first conference recognition of her career. A 6-foot-2 forward from Lake in the Hills, Illinois, Andrews has played in all 29 of Illinois' games this season and earned 26 starts. She is shooting 44-percent from three-point range this season, and her 115 career three-pointers made rank seventh all-time at Illinois. 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 2019 Big Ten Tournament and is set to face No. 11-seed Purdue at approximately 3 p.m. CT Wednesday. Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois women's basketball.
