March 29, 2001

COTTRELL NAMED NATION’S BEST PLAYER

Norse junior forward named national Player of the Year

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University basketball player Michelle Cottrell has been named the 2000-01 Women’s Division II Bulletin Player of the Year, the publication announced today. Cottrell led NKU to a 25-5 record and an NCAA Tournament bid while averaging 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. She was named Player of the Year in the Great Lakes Valley Conference for the second straight year and led the league in field goal shooting at 62.1 percent. “Michelle had a great season and led her team to the NCAA tournament,” said WDIIB Editor Gary Rubin. “Her statistics only tell a part of how she dominated on the floor this year. She is very deserving of this honor.” Cottrell, a junior forward and a graduate of Boone County High School, is the first NKU athlete to ever earn national Player of the Year honors. In addition, she was named to the Kodak NCAA Division II All-America Team, the Daktronics Great Lakes All-Region Team and the GTE District IV All-Academic Team. During the 2000-01 season, Cottrell was named the most valuable player in the Avalon Classic at Erie, Pa., and she earned All-Tournament honors at both the Community Recorder Classic and the GLVC Tournament. She will enter her senior season with 1,710 career points, which ranks No. 2 in Norse history. Cottrell needs just 174 points to become NKU’s all-time leading scorer.