Caldwell named player of the week

She had been nominated about a half dozen times previously.

She finally got the big honor.

Shelby Caldwell, a Jay County High School senior, was named player of the week for District 2 by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association on Monday.

In her only game last week, Caldwell scored a school-record 41 points by helping the Patriot girls basketball team to a 77-17 thrashing of the Blackford Bruins on Thursday.

The 5-foot, 11-inch forward was 16-of-25 from the floor, including a 7-of-13 effort from long range, and split a pair of free throws to surpass the previous record of 40 points set by Shannon Freeman in the 1985-86 season and Lyla Muhlenkamp on Dec. 15, 2015.

Caldwell also added six rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists as the Patriots moved to 7-6 on the season, their first time above .500 since a season-opening win Nov. 9.

The senior is averaging 20.2 points per game this year along with 6.8 rebounds.

Jay County returns to the court Saturday as it crosses the state line to play Fort Recovery at Fort Site Fieldhouse. Junior varsity tips at noon with varsity to follow.