SEATTLE — Seattle Pacific University point guard Suzanna Ohlsen has been named the NCAA Division II Academic All-America Player of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Ohlsen, a senior from Monroe, has a 4.0 grade-point average as a biochemistry major and already has been accepted into the University of Washington’s pharmacy program. This is her second Academic All-America award. She made the CoSIDA third team last season.
In addition to her work in the classroom, Ohlsen leads the No. 19-ranked Falcons in scoring at 18.0 points per game, assists at 3.9, and field-goal shooting at 51 percent. She is the program’s all-time leader in accuracy at the free-throw line at better than 88 percent.
“She’s exceptionally gifted — but she’s also exceptionally organized,” SPU head coach Julie Heisey said of Ohlsen. “For her to have the schedule she has had and have a 4.0 GPA and be one of the best basketball players in the country is pretty amazing.”
On Dec. 4, Ohlsen scored her 1,000th career point in a 75-47 victory over Alaska Fairbanks. Later in the season, she cracked SPU’s top 10 list for career scoring.
“It’s an absolute honor to have received this award. I feel totally humbled, and it’s such a cool experience,” Ohlsen said. “It has been a long four years, but it has been an absolutely amazing ride.”
The Falcons (21-6) play Humboldt State in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Division II West Regional.
Lynnwood’s Edwards honored
Freshman Jasmin Edwards of Central Washington University, a 2014 graduate of Lynnwood High School, has been named Freshman of the Year in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. She also was a second-team All-GNAC selection.
Edwards, the Wildcats’ starting point guard, was the team’s second-leading scorer at 12.2 points a game and led the Wildcats in assists with a 4.6 average, ranking fourth in the conference. She also led CWU in minutes per game at 36.3.
Wildcats coach Jeff Harada called the freshman-of-the-year award “a great honor for Jasmin. Her consistency to impact the game on both ends of the floor the way she does in her first year in a league with so many talented point guards and other freshmen, shows the respect she has earned from the coaches in the conference.”
Central Washington closed its season Thursday with a 51-40 loss to Western Washington in the first round of the GNAC tournament in Billings, Montana.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
