Reinhart earns All-NSIC South first team honors; Akoi named to All-Defensive Team
BURNSVILLE — The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced on Wednesday morning Southwest Minnesota State University senior women’s basketball player Meleah Reinhart has been named All-NSIC South Division first team, while senior Abuk Akoi was named to the NSIC South Division All-Defensive team as selected by the division’s eight head coaches.
It’s the first time Reinhart has earned first team honors in her career after earning All-NSIC second team accolades in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. It’s the second straight season Akoi has been named to the All-NSIC Defensive team.
A 5-foot-9, guard from New Ulm, Reinhart led SMSU in scoring with 15.7 points per game which included 13 double figure scoring games. She scored 20 or more points four times, including a career-high 28 in last Sunday’s loss at Sioux Falls. Reinhart closed the season shooting 40 percent (73 of 181) from the field, including 42 percent (24 of 57) from 3-point range. She averaged 4.6 rebounds per game, shot 86 percent (50 of 58) from the free throw line–ranking third in team single-season history–while dishing out 24 assists and recording 14 steals.
In NSIC play (12 games), Reinhart ranked fourth in scoring (15.8), sixth in free throw pct. (86.8), 11th in field goal pct. (39.0) and 16th in 3-point field goals per game (1.7).
In her four-year career, Reinhart has scored 1,148 points with 125 3-pointers in 94 games. She ranks seventh in team history shooting 81 percent (269 of 333) from the free throw line, ranks ninth in 3-point field goals made and is 12th in scoring.
Akoi, a 6-foot-4, center from Sioux Falls, S.D., led SMSU in both blocked shots (46) and rebounding (7.6), while averaging 9.3 ppg and shooting 45 percent (54 of 121) from the field. She recorded four or more blocked shots in six games, including tying the school single-game record of seven on two occasions. She has racked up seven blocked shots in a game four times in her career.
A 2018 graduate of O’Gorman High School, Akoi became the program’s all-time leader in blocked shots in last Sunday’s season finale at Sioux Falls and now has 187 in 91 games. She has scored 648 career points with 604 rebounds, while shooting 47 percent (274 of 587) from the field.
In NSIC play this season, Akoi led the league in blocked shots (44/3.7 per game) and finished third in rebounding (8.3).
Both Reinhart and Akoi are expected to return for a fifth season in 2021-22 after the NCAA granted all players in 2020-21 an extra season of eligibility due to COVID-19.
Southwest Minnesota State closed the 2020-21 season with a 9-5 overall record, including 7-5 in NSIC South play. The Mustangs missed qualifying for the eight-team NSIC Tournament by a half-game.
— Content courtesy of
SMSU Athletic Communications