by NORMAN – In her return to the floor, freshman guard Kelbie Washington (Choctaw) helped guide the Oklahoma women’s basketball team to back-to-back rivalry wins over Oklahoma State and No. 9 Texas and earned Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors for her efforts.
It’s the second time this year that Washington has earned the accolade, claiming both Big 12 Freshman of the Week and USBWA National Freshman of the Week on Jan. 4. Washington averaged 8.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 steals, and 2.0 rebounds in the wins over the Cowgirls and Longhorns.
The guard posted a plus-minus of +40 on Wednesday vs. Oklahoma State, becoming the first Sooner freshman to do so in over five years. The Norman, Okla., product played 23 minutes in both contests, dishing out seven assists on Wednesday and scoring 10 in the Sooners’ upset win over No. 9 Texas.
With the accolade, Washington becomes the first Sooner to post multiple Freshman of the Week honors since Taylor Robertson won it four times in 2018-19.
The guard is having one of the best freshman seasons in program history and is on pace to finish with 119 assists, which would be good for the third-most ever for an OU freshman. In addition, Washington’s 4.4 APG would rank only behind Stacey Dales’ 5.2 APG number in terms of the highest freshmen assist average.
