SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- Nicole Buckingham (JR/Saginaw, Mich.) and Hayley Walkowski (SR/Marshall, MI) earned WHAC First Team All-Conference honors following their successful seasons on the court in 2017-18, the conference office announced Thursday afternoon.
Danielle Hanson (SO/East Lansing, Mich.) earned Second Team All-Conference honors and Teryn Kline (FR/Fort Wayne, IN) was named to the All-Freshman Team. Walkowski was also named to the WHAC All-Defensive Team and Alex Ruster (SR/Warren, MI) was the Blue Devils Champions of Character Player. Cherilyn Banas (JR/Oxford, Mich.), Rachel Price (SO/Springboro, Ohio), Buckingham, Ruster, and Walkowski earned WHAC All-Academic Honors for their work in the classroom.
Buckingham is earning first team honors for the second straight season after leading the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game. Buckingham has now surpassed 500 points in a season in back-to-back campaigns. She has 502 points this season, six points shy of her school record of 508 points in a season. Buckingham also reached the 1,000 career point plateau and became the third player in the LTU women's basketball to reach the milestone.
Buckingham ranked sixth in the WHAC with 17.3 PPG, fifth in total scoring, ninth in field goal percentage (.403), eighth in total steals (48), and ninth in the steals per game with 1.86. In NAIA DII, Buckingham ranks 24th in total scoring and 27th in points per game.
Walkowski is earning the honor for the first time as she surpassed 1,000 career points during her senior season. She is fourth on the all-time scoring list at Lawrence Tech and has 1,111 career points in 113 games. She averages 14.2 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game, both career best single-season averages.
Walkowski ranks ninth in the WHAC in points per game (14.17), eighth in total scoring, fourth in field-goal percentage (0.495), 11th in steals per game (1.52), and ninth in rebounds per game (6.52). In NAIA DII, Walkowski ranks 18th in free throw percentage (0.844) and 39th in field goal percentage.
Hanson earns the honor for the first time in her career as she finished the regular season third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. She finished the season with 14 steals, 27 assists, and nine blocks.
Kline is the third straight freshman from Lawrence Tech to be named to the All-Freshman team following Buckingham in 2015-16 and Kaitlyn Smith (SO/Holly, Mich.) in 2016-17. She was fourth on the team in scoring, averaging eight points per game, with 10 double-digit scoring performances. She had a career high 19 points in win over Great Lakes Christian on Nov. 8, 2017.
Other awards include Player of the Year Haley Cook from Indiana Tech, Defensive Player of the Year Momo Neal from Aquinas, Newcomer of the Year Emily Patton from Northwestern Ohio, Coach of the Year Jesse Biggs from Indiana Tech and Champions of Character Coach Katie Mettera.
Watch the Blue Devils in action tonight, Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
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