Two Michigan State freshman earn All-Big Ten honors
Michigan State women's basketball has a pair of building blocks on their roster in freshmen Matilda Ekh and DeeDee Hagemann.
With the conclusion of the regular season, the Big Ten Conference recently announced its selections for all-conference honors. Both Ekh and Hagemann were named to the Big Ten's All-Freshman team, and both garnered honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition as well.
Ekh was an All-Freshman selection by both the media and coaches, while Hagemann was rewarded by the media.
A native of Vasteras, Sweeden, Ekh has had an excellent first season in East Lansing, averaging 11.5 points per game. She is third in the Spartan freshman record book with 62 3-pointers made, and she stands eighth in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal percentage (.392). The freshman also played a vital role in the Spartans upset win over then-No. 4 Michigan at the Breslin Center.
Hagemann, a native of Detroit, is averaging 7.9 points per game on the year. She is third in the MSU freshman record books with 135 assists, and her 5.4 assists per game average is fourth in the Big Ten. Hagemann also ranks 10th in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio (1.8).
This marks the first time since the 2007-08 season that Michigan State has had two players named to the All-Freshman team.
Finishing the season 14-14 overall and 9-8 in Big Ten play, the 8-seed Spartans earned a first round bye and will battle 9-seed Purdue on Thursday in the Big Ten women's basketball tournament. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals were 1-seed Ohio State awaits.
