Maryland women’s basketball guard Kaila Charles was named First Team All-Big Ten, while guard Ieshia Small was named Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, the conference announced on Monday.
Guards Kristen Confroy and Eleanna Christinaki earned Big Ten Honorable Mention honors. Confroy also garnered the conference’s sportsmanship award.
Charles has led the Terps with averages of 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. She has set her career-highs in several categories, including 32 points against then-No. 8 Ohio State on Jan. 22.
[Read more: Maryland women’s basketball avoids late collapse in 77-75 win over Nebraska]
The sophomore also established herself as one of the conference’s premier defensive players, leading the No. 13 Terps (23-6, 12-4 Big Ten) in blocks and ranks third on the squad with 47 steals this season.
The Glenn Dale native has been tasked with guarding the opposition’s best player. She held Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell, who ranks third in the nation averaging 24.4 points per game, to just 15 on Jan. 22.
Charles is one of 30 finalists for the Citizen Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year award.
Small averages 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and is often Maryland’s first player off the bench. She’s also added 61 assists and 32 steals this season while playing 22.4 minutes per game.
The Miami native set career-highs in points and rebounds while playing in her home city in November. Against Miami, Small notched 23 points and 10 rebounds, her best output since transferring from Baylor for her final two years of eligibility.
The Terps earned the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament and will play their first game against the winner of Indiana and Michigan State on Friday.
