WHITEFISH, Mont. – The Frontier Conference announced Monday that
Emilee Maldonado was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week.
Maldonado led the Argos to a 2-1 record in three games last week. She averaged 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and one steal and was 19 of 31 from the field including 11 of 18 on three-point field goals and one of two from the free throw line. On Sunday's 67-64 win over Montana Western, she had the game-winning assist to teammate
Reed Hazard, who hit a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Montana Western.
"She was determined we were going to win," head coach
Bill Himmelberg said. "She led the way with effort. That's what it takes to win against a good team like Western."
Not shown on the box score is her leadership and basketball IQ. After Saturday's night loss to the Bulldogs, Maldonado approached Himmelberg with plays she thought the team could run in the second game.
"She drew them up for me and then drew them up for the team," Himmelberg said. "We put them in eight minutes before the game and went out and executed them. It's pretty special that she can do that. She's got a good basketball mind."
Maldonado, who was voted
Preseason 1st Team All-Conference, is currently leading the league in points (17.14 ppg), assists (5.14 apg), three-point percentage (51.5%) and free throw percentage (96.7%).
"She's playing consistently night in and night out right now," Himmelberg said. "She's been big for us. It's pretty fun to see her development. No question that she's playing really well."
Maldonado is the second Argo player to win the Player of the Week award this season;
Parker Esary won the award on Jan. 11. So far this year, an Argo player has won the award both times they've been eligible to receive it.
"It's special when you have two players that can get that," Himmelberg said. "They are special players. They don't come around all the time so you really have to treasure it when you have players like those two."
The Argos return to the court this weekend with a pair of home games against Montana State-Northern.
