By Annie Walker
INDIANAPOLIS (March 4, 2024) – Three Panthers earned postseason recognition from the Horizon League as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. Receiving postseason accolades were Jorey Buwalda, Grace Crowley, and Kendall Nead.
After being selected to the Preseason All-League Second Team, Nead backed it up with a spot on the All-League Second Team following her senior season with the Panthers. Nead also won the league’s inaugural Sportsmanship Award.
Crowley received individual honors and was named the Horizon League’s Sixth Player of the Year, after playing in 26 of the team’s 31 games, coming off the bench in 22 of those contests.
Rounding out Milwaukee’s honorees was Buwalda, who earns a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Buwalda made an impact for the Panthers in her first season and played in all 31 of the team’s contests.
“We have a really special team this year that’s full of balance,” commented head coach Kyle Rechlicz. “I’m thankful that the other coaches in the Horizon League saw the same value in some of our players that we do daily. I am proud to coach these players along with all the players on our roster. They are incredibly deserving of any, and all awards they receive.”
Nead becomes the 32nd player in program history to earn All-League honors since Milwaukee joined the Horizon League (previously Midwestern Collegiate Conference) in 1994. The one-time Horizon League Player of the Week this season was sixth in the league in scoring as she averaged 14 points per game and was third in the league in field goals made (172), and 12th in three-pointers made (39).
She was also 18th in the league in rebounding with 5.4 boards per contest and was 25th in the league in assists per games, with just under two per game. Nead spent most of the season in the top-10 in minutes played and ended in 11th with an average of 30.9 minutes per contest.
An early-season injury kept Crowley from playing in all 31 of the team’s games, but upon return was a key component for the Panthers as she came off the bench and was the league’s recipient of its Sixth Player of the Year honors. Crowley becomes the first Panther ever to receive the award for Sixth Player of the Year.
She led the team in field goal percentage at 67.0 percent, making 61 of her 91 attempts. Her field goal percentage included her record-setting performance as she went 10-for-10 from the field at Youngstown State on February 3 to set the program record for field goal percentage in a game with a minimum of 10 attempts.
A three-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week, Buwalda was a presence inside for the Panthers during her rookie campaign. Buwalda made seven starts for the Panthers and becomes the fifth player to earn a spot on the All-Freshman Team in program history since it was reclassified from the All-Newcomer Team in 2014-15.
Buwalda averaged 18.6 minutes per game this season and made 48.8 percent of her attempts from the field with 80 overall makes including eight three-pointers. Buwalda led the team with 70 free throws made and was among the team leaders at 81.4 percent from the line. She led the team in both total (173) and offensive (52) rebounds and was also second on the team with 11 blocks.
Milwaukee will serve as the fifth seed in the upcoming Barbasol Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship and travel to fourth-seeded Wright State on Thursday evening. The quarterfinal matchup against the Raiders will begin at 4:30 p.m. (CT).
Cleveland State received several All-League Awards including Colbi Maples (Player of the Year), Chris Kielsmeier (Coach of the Year), Mickayla Perdue (Newcomer of the Year), and Carmen Villalobos (Defensive Player of the Year).
Northern Kentucky’s Carter McCray earned Freshman of the Year accolades, while Callie Genke of Green Bay split Sixth Player of the Year honors with Crowley, and Youngstown State’s Mady Aulbach split Sportsmanship Award recognition with Nead.
| All-League First Team | All-Freshman Team |
| Colbi Maples, Cleveland State | Paris Gilmore, Detroit Mercy |
| Mickayla Perdue, Cleveland State | Jorey Buwalda, Milwaukee |
| Natalie McNeal, Green Bay | Carter McCray, Northern Kentucky |
| Amellia Bromenschenkel, Purdue Fort Wayne | Renna Schwieterman, Purdue Fort Wayne |
| Alexis Hutchison, Wright State | Erin Woodson, Purdue Fort Wayne |
| All-League Second Team | All-Defensive Team |
| Maddy Schreiber, Green Bay | Colbi Maples, Cleveland State |
| Katie Davidson, IUPUI | Carmen Villalobos, Cleveland State |
| Kendall Nead, Milwaukee | Bailey Butler, Green Bay |
| Carter McCray, Northern Kentucky | Brooke Quarles-Daniels, Oakland |
| Brooke Quarles-Daniels, Oakland | Emily Saunders, Youngstown State |
| All-League Third Team | Sportsmanship Award Finalists |
| Irene Murua, Detroit Mercy | Destiny Leo, Cleveland State |
| Bailey Butler, Green Bay | Jasmine Kondrakiewicz, Green Bay |
| Khamari Mitchell-Steen, Northern Kentucky | Kendall Nead, Milwaukee |
| Shayla Sellers, Purdue Fort Wayne | Kenndy Igo, Northern Kentucky |
| Emily Saunders, Youngstown State | Jazzlyn Linbo, Purdue Fort Wayne |
| Alejandra Mastral, Robert Morris | |
| Lauren Scott, Wright State | |
| Mady Aulbach, Youngstown State |
HORIZON LEAGUE RELEASE
COURTESY MILWAUKEE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
