By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Raegan McCowan has won the Ohio Valley Conference’s women’s basketball freshman of the week so many times this season, it was no surprise when the Western Illinois guard was named the conference’s freshman of the year on Tuesday.

McCowan, who won the weekly award 13 times, led the OVC in scoring at 19.2 points per game, the third best scoring average among freshmen in NCAA Division I.

McCowan’s first season with the Leathernecks included a 45-point game against Southern Indiana on February 24, which tied with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark for the fifth highest scoring performance in Division I this season, and the second most for a freshman behind the 51 points scored by JuJu Watkins.

McCowan was also named to the OVC’s all-conference first team, and was a member of the conference’s all-newcomer team.

Eastern Illinois forward Macy McGlone was named the conference’s player of the year and defensive player of the year. Southern Indiana’s Rick Stein was named the conference’s coach of the year.

McCowan and the Leathernecks open OVC tournament play on Wednesday against Tennessee Tech.

Photo: Western Illinois’ Raegan McCowan was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s freshman of the year on Tuesday. (Photo from WIU Athletic Communications)