Grossman named Freshman of the Year, Howard earns Honorable Mention
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University’s Kourtney Grossman has been named Big Sky Freshman of the Year. The Big Sky Conference announced its postseason awards Friday prior to the beginning of the 2025 Big Sky Tournament.
Grossman also earned All-Conference Honorable Mention alongside the Eagles’ Peyton Howard.
In her first season in Cheney, Grossman broke the freshman rebounding record, surpassing 290 total for the season, previously held by Brenda Souther (1984). Grossman currently has 302 rebounds, ranking eighth for the all-time, single-season rebounding record. The Billings, Mont. native leads the Big Sky with 10.4 rebounds per game, which also ties the program record for rebounding average currently.
Along with controlling the boards, Grossman is second on the team and 15th in the conference with 10.4 points per game. She has 13 rebounds this season, which leads all freshman NCAA Division I players. Grossman is shooting 39.5% from the floor and is third on the team with 37 steals.
Grossman holds three of the top five rebounding games in the Big Sky this season. She posted a conference-leading 19 rebounds against Montana State (Jan. 20), while tallying 17 in games against UC Santa Barbara (12/20) and Northern Colorado (Jan. 25). Grossman's career-high in points also occurred against the Bobcats, finishing with 18 total.
Grossman is the seventh Eagle to earn the Freshman of the Year award, with Jaydia Martin last earning it for the 2021-22 season.
Howard leads the Eagles in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game, which also ranks sixth in the Big Sky. The Spokane Valley native also carries the distribution responsibilities for the Eagles, leading the team with 102 assists — 3.4 per game — good for ninth in the conference. Howard also accounts for a team-leading 45 steals — 1.3 per game — tying for ninth in the league as well.
This season, Howard had a stand-out game against Northern Arizona (Feb. 22), posting a career-best 30 points on 10-of-18(55.6%). She has four games this season scoring 20-plus points. Howard dished out a season-best seven assists against Montana, adding 16 points in the game. In the matchup against Saint Mary's (Nov. 22), Howard finished with five steals for a career-high.
Additionally, Howard is 10th in the Big Sky with a 0.9 assist-to-turnover ratio. Howard scored 12 points versus Portland State (Jan. 9), giving her over 1000 for her career between Eastern and Seattle U. She currently has 1210 points for her collegiate career.
In program history, EWU has 86 Big Sky All-Conference selections.
Montana State's Esmeralda Morales was named Big Sky MVP, while the Bobcats' head coach Tricia Binford earned Coach of the Year. MSU's Taylee Chirrick grabbed Defensive Player of the Year, while Idaho's Olivia Nelson earned Newcomer of the Year and Northern Arizona's Saniyah Neverson was the Top Reserve.
Martin was named to the All-Conference Second Team, her third All-Conference selection between Sacramento State and EWU.
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Eastern Washington was set to play multiple matches in the Big Sky Conference over the weekend. Coverage of the results will be in Tuesday’s paper.
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