Echols, Youngstrom earn Player of the Week honors

MARQUETTE – Senior Naba Echols was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Player of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 24 points for the Wildcats.

Against Ferris State University, the point guard scored 26 points while hitting six three-pointers on the night. He added six free throws and dished out two assists while collecting three blocks. He also notched a blocked shot.

On Saturday, NMU visited Lake Superior State University where Echols tallied 22 points along with three assists and three steals to help the Wildcats take a 73-68 victory over the Lakers.

Echols joins senior Isaiah Johnson (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) with multiple GLIAC Player of the Week honors this season. The pair is also currently leading the GLIAC in points per game.

MARQUETTE – Senior Darby Youngstrom  was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Player of the Week for the second time this season after helping the Northern Michigan University Women’s Basketball team win two games and secure a home playoff game last week.

Youngstrom led the team with 20 points per game and was second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game in the two victories. She finished the week shooting 61% from the field and added two blocks and four steals.

In a 70-66 double overtime victory at Ferris State University Thursday night, she scored a career-high 25 points on 10-15 shooting. She also paced the team with eight rebounds along with a career-high four steals.

She followed with a 15-point performance against Lake Superior State University, where the Wildcats won 63-47. Finishing the game 6-11 from the field, she added three rebounds and two blocked shots to her effort.

Youngstrom is now just 35 points shy of becoming the 26th player to reach 1,000 points in her career. She is the second player to earn two GLIAC Player of the Week honors this season as sophomore Lexi Smith (St. Germain, Wis.) has also won the award twice.