RIVER FOREST, ILL. -- In her first season of collegiate basketball,
Ai Yonemura (Yachiyo, Chiba-Japan) had a star-studded breakthrough season, earning herself Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) First Team All-Conference as well as Freshman of the Year. Accompanying her on the All-NACC list was sophomore
Grace King (Fairland, Ind.) who earned All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Yonemura started and appeared in 24 games this season for the Cougars, making an immediate impact on the court. She led the Cougars in scoring with 402 total points, averaging 16.8 points per game. She also led the Cougars in assists, picking up 93 this season. Yonemura found herself in many different statistical categories throughout the conference, including the conference's leading scorer from week one until the final game. She led the conference in total assists and assists per game while coming in fifth in assist to turnover ratio. Additional areas that Yonemura etched her name in the conference rankings was sixth in 3-point field goals per game, 6th in total 3-point field goals, 11th in 3-point field goal percentage, 10th in free throws made, 8th in steals, and 25th in blocked shots. Across all of NCAA Division III, Yonemura came in at 81st in points per game, 91st in assists per game, and 96th in total assists. Yonemura had many strong games this season, picking up career-high 26 points against Albion College (Nov. 15th), career-high nine assists against Concordia University Wisconsin (Jan. 28th), and career-high eight steals against North Central College (Nov. 11th).
King started and appeared in 24 games this season for the Cougars, bringing strength and leadership to the floor. She led the Cougars in many areas with 148 total rebounds, averaging 6.2 boards per game. She also led the Cougars in free throw percentage, going 45-54 from the line for a 83.3% on the season. Additionally, King led in field goal percentage, shooting 48.6% all year. King found herself in many different statistical categories throughout the conference including 11th in rebounds per game, sixth in offensive rebounds per game, and 18th in points per game. In her sophomore season, King had many strong games, picking up career-high 21 points against Albion College (Nov. 15th) and Marian University (Feb.14th), career-high 15 rebounds against Rockford University (Jan. 7th), and career-high five steals against Edgewood University (Feb. 11th). King picked up three double-doubles this season against Marian, Rockford, and Dominican University. King earned NACC Player of the Week in the week of February 17th after combining for 39 points in to crucial games for the Cougars.
The Cougars closed their season with a final record of 10-15 and a NACC record of 9-9, narrowly missing the conference tournament on tiebreaker rules. Yonemura, King, and the rest of the Cougars return next season to pick up where they left off. Coverage and updates for CUC women's basketball can be found at cucougars.com and on Instagram or X @cucwbball.
