CHICAGO — For a historic fifth time, Chicago State freshman guard
Aaliyah Collins has been named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.
"I'm excited for Aaliyah and our program," head coach
Tiffany Sardin said. "It continues to show her success and growth. We're not surprised, but we want to keep getting better, because we know there's plenty of growth left in Aaliyah and in this program."
Collins was also chosen as Freshman of the Week on November 22, November 29, December 6 and January 17 and is the first student-athlete in Chicago State history to win the award five times.
With one more selection, Collins would tie the WAC single-season record for Player of the Week awards with six.
In the Cougars' three games, which included the team's first home win under Sardin, Collins averaged 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 4.0 steals per game. On Tuesday, Jan. 25 against New Mexico State, she poured in 17 points and dished out seven assists as the Cougars roared back from down 16 points to edge the Aggies for the first time ever. She then scored a team-high 22 points against Dixie State on Saturday.
Collins, the former Washington State Player of the Year who has still played in just 17 college games, leads the Cougars and ranks third in the WAC with 15.9 points per game, and her 2.9 steals per game lead the conference and 14th in NCAA Division I.
Collins has scored in double figures in all but three games. She's also scored 20 or more points in six contests, including Saturday at Dixie State.
The freshman has also keyed a season that has served as a program-changer for Chicago State. On November 22, she dropped in 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting at Wisconsin, an overtime 71-63 win for the Cougars that served as the program's first win in two years. The Seattle U win was Chicago State's first WAC win since Jan. 2020.
Collins and the Cougars kick off a two-game homestead against Abilene Christian on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Jones Convocation Center.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year.
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