INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced its women's lacrosse Players of the Week recognitions on Monday, March 30th, with McKendree sweeping both the offensive and defensive recognitions for the second time this season.
Senior attacker Jayna Barnden (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week after totaling 19 points on 14 goals and five assists, along with five ground balls and two caused turnovers on 66.7% shooting overall and 90.5% on the goal, which included going 100% on free-position shot attempts and also clinching game-winning goals in both outings.
In the game one's 26-3 win at Northwood University, Barnden finished with a career-high 12 points and eight goals, along with four assists, four ground balls, and two caused turnovers on 72.7% shooting overall and 100% on the goal. Then, in game two's 22-1 win at Saginaw Valley State University, she finished with seven points of six goals and an assist, along with a ground ball on 60.0% shooting overall, 80.0% on the goal, plus 100% shooting on free-position opportunities.
Junior midfielder Lexi Macleod (Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada) was honored with the Defensive Player of the Week, as she collected seven caused turnovers, 11 ground balls, two draw controls, along with seven points consisting of four goals and three assists on 50.0% shooting overall and 87.5% on the goal.
In the game one win at Northwood, Macleod finished with three caused turnovers, five ground balls, and one draw control, along with three points of one goal and two assists on 50.0% shooting overall and 100% on the goal. Then, in game two's win at SVSU, Macleod finished with four caused turnovers, six ground balls, one drawn control, along with four points of three goals and an assist on 50.0% shooting overall and 83.3% on the goal.
Barnden is top-10 in the GLVC in goals per game (2nd – 4.4), assists per game (1st – 2.3), points per game (1st – 6.6), shots per game (3rd – 8.1), and ground balls per game (3rd – 2.9), while Macleod is in the same range in assists per game (10th – 1.3), ground balls per game (2nd – 3.1), caused turnovers per game (5th – 1.8), and draw controls per game (9th – 3.1).
In the NCAA Division II realm, Barnden is top-25 in assists per game (24th – 2.3), free-position goals per game (18th –0.9), free-position percentage (9th – 70.0%), total goals (22nd – 35), goals per game (6th –4.4), total points (11th – 53), points per game (2nd – 6.6), shots per game (11th – 8.1), and shots on goal per game (5th – 6.8).
This is the second time this season, and the third time ever, that the McKendree program has swept both the offensive and defensive nods via the GLVC. The two Canada natives also account for the team's fifth and sixth weekly honor this year alone, with nine games down and still at least eight games to go.
"I am super proud of both Jayna and Lexi for their immense effort in what was arguably our most dominant week in recent history of the program," said Head Coach Natalie Simpson. As always, they never fail to show out as exemplary young adults for our squad and the sport at large. I look forward to how this group will compete at the start of GLVC play later this week!"
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Tuesday, March 31st as the team will return home to Leemon Field to face off against Dominican University of California at 10:00 AM CT.
The game will be streamed live or on-demand on the GLVC Sports Network with a subscription/download purchase required. Live stats will also be provided to the public.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Women's Lacrosse on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCwlax | #D2lax
For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
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