Youngstown State guard Nikki Arbanas has been named the Horizon League Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week for her efforts in two games during the week of Jan. 19-25, the conference office announced on Monday.
Arbanas, a graduate of nearby Hickory High and a native of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, averaged 16 points and 3.5 assists as the Penguins went 1-1 during week.
She scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half on Thursday as the Penguins beat Wright State, the defending conference tournament champions, 75-70. Arbanas then made a career-high six 3-pointers, the most by any player in a Horizon League game this season, in a 20-point performance at Oakland on Saturday. Those six triples came in just eight attempts. She had three makes from beyond the arc in the first four minutes, and she made two more during a key 11-0 YSU run once the Penguins got down by 10 in the second half.
Arbanas has made 47.1 percent of her 3-point attempts this season, which leads the Horizon League. She also ranks sixth in the conference with 1.8 3-pointers per game. Arbanas is just the third Penguins freshman to ever make six 3-pointers in a game, and she's the first to do it since Barb Fabianova in 2002.
Arbanas was also named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Nov. 17. She is one of four freshmen in the league to earn the weekly honor twice. Arbanas is also a star in the classroom as she posted a 4.0 GPA during the fall.
Milwaukee's Ashley Green was named the Horizon League Player of the Week.
Youngstown State has two home games this week, starting with a Wednesday evening contest against Detroit.
