HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Horizon League office announced Monday afternoon that Northern Kentucky's Khamari Mitchell-Steen was selected as the Nike® Horizon League Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week. This is the second consecutive week the Norse have earned the conference's Freshman of the Week honor. 

"I'm excited for Khamari and for our program in earning our second Freshman of the Week in a row!" said head coach Camryn Whitaker. "It's a small glimpse of what's to come with our freshman class. Khamari emerged this week as a force off the bounce and showing her ability to attack the basket and turn defense to offense!"

Mitchell-Steen had herself a breakout week offensively for the Norse, helping Northern Kentucky secure back-to-back wins over rival Wright State. The Norse also extended their winning streak out to nine consecutive games as well this past week. Mitchell-Steen finished the week averaging a team-high 18.5 points per game, along with 5.0 rebounds per game, seven total steals, and shot 65.2 percent from the floor. 

In the first matchup against Wright State, Khamari posted a career-high 23 points in the 77-59 win at home over the Raiders. She totaled seven rebounds, tied her career-high in steals with four and added a career-high in blocks with three. Mitchell-Steen went 9-for-12 (75 percent) from the field, along with 1-for-1 from beyond the arc. The last time Northern Kentucky defeated Wright State was back on March 10, 1987, snapping a losing streak of 14 games. 

In the second game of the week, NKU defeated WSU once again but this time in Dayton by a final score of 82-79. Mitchell-Steen finished second on the team in scoring with 14 points, shooting 6-for-11 overall. She added three steals and three rebounds in the winning effort as well. The last time Northern Kentucky swept the season series against Wright State was during the 1986-87 season, which was also the year the Norse defeated the Raiders on the road. The Norse with a current record of 13-3 is the best start to a season since the 2008-09 year where Northern Kentucky went 16-0. This is the best all-time start for the Norse in Horizon League play at 7-2 overall, and the best overall start in Northern Kentucky NCAA Division I history at 13-3 overall as well. 

This is the second Horizon League Freshman of the Week selection for Northern Kentucky this season, as Kailee Davis earned the award last week (Jan. 10-16).

The Norse are back in action this week against Milwaukee inside BB&T Arena on Thursday, Jan. 27. Northern Kentucky will tip-off against the Panthers in Highland Heights at 7 p.m.