FOR RELEASE: Monday, February 6, 2006

Lady Firebirds’ Henion recognized as national player of the week

ROSCOMMON – Emily Henion, a 5’6” Kirtland Community College freshman who grew up in Frederic, received Women’s Basketball Player-of-the-Week honors last week from the National Junior College Athletic Association.

The announcement and Henion’s picture were posted to the NJCAA Web site on Feb. 1 and took into account the fantastic statistics the petite point guard racked up in the Lady Firebirds’ Jan. 28 win over Henry Ford Community College.

From the Web site, “Henion led Kirtland to a 2-0 record last week with a double-double in wins over Alpena (79-62) and Henry Ford (119-100). Against Alpena she had 11 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and three steals. She followed that with 22 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and six steals in the win over Henry Ford. On the week she averaged 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 11.0 assists and 4.5 steals per game and her assist-to-turnover ratio for the week was 22-to-1.”

The award is in the association’s Division II women’s basketball section which includes more than 100 colleges and teams from around the country.

Kirtland’s athletic director and head women’s basketball coach Teresa Stuck was thrilled with Henion’s recognition.

“Emily is an amazing point guard,” Stuck said. “She has complete control of the game. When the other team is on a run and I put her in, I have no worries.

“Lately, she has really stepped up her game, especially offensively. Defensively she has increased her aggressiveness and been able to force some big turnovers at key points in games. But offensively, as a scoring threat, is where she really is starting to blossom. She is beginning to add scoring to her repertoire of talents which makes her a huge asset to us and a nightmare for other teams.”

Henion is the daughter of Dave and MariAnn Henion of Frederic. She is a 2003 graduate of Gaylord St. Mary High School where she was coached by Jim Kerfoot.