Credit to: fightingirish.com
The 6-5 rookie tallied 25 points, 35 rebounds and 13 blocks in two games
INDIANAPOLIS — Just two weeks into her college career, Irish freshman Kate Koval has earned her first national honor. On Tuesday, the United States Basketball Writers Association announced that the Kyiv, Ukraine native is the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week.
Koval had a record-breaking few days last week in wins over JMU and Lafayette. Against the Dukes on Wednesday, the rookie had her first career double-double with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 6 blocks. Koval bested that board performance on Sunday at Lafayette with 11 points, 19 rebounds and 7 blocks. Her 19 boards are a Notre Dame freshman record and tied for the seventh-best single-game performance in school history. Further, the 7-block performance is the first for the Irish since 2017 (Brianna Turner). In total last week, the 6-5 forward had 25 points, 35 rebounds and 13 blocks.
To date this season, there have been three performances in the ACC of 6+ blocks. Koval owns two of those three. She leads the conference with 5.5 blocks per game and the nation with 22 total blocks this year — 10 more than anyone else in the ACC.
Additionally, Koval is one of two players in the ACC currently averaging a double-double (12.8/13.0), and she leads all ACC freshmen with a 55.3 percent success rate from the floor.
Koval’s high school teammate and current Michigan guard Syla Swords earned the honor last week, so Long Island Lutheran has swept the awards thus far.
Koval and the Irish will be back in action on Saturday for a showdown in Los Angeles with No. 3 USC (4-0). The game tips off on NBC at 4 p.m. ET.
