Several Fox area alums start hot on the hardwood
As we kick off the first official "winter" Off at College, we stop first at the University of Indianapolis to check in on Hampshire product Emma Benoit, who is a key contributor on the women's basketball team.
To start the week, Benoit was averaging 11.8 points per game, which ranks third on the team. In an average of 28.3 minutes, she his shooting .560 from the floor and .833 from the free-throw line (15 of 18). She's also Indianapolis' leading rebounder at 9.3 per contest, and is tops on the squad with 12 blocked shots.
Of particular note, Benoit had 16 points and 20 rebounds to go with 6 blocked shots in a recent game against Davenport. She also had a season-high 19 points and 10 rebounds in a game against Cedarville where she shot 9-for-13 from the field. In a game against Malone, Benoit had 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting and also pulled in 9 rebounds. Thus far, she has 5 games where she has snared seven or more rebounds.
Martens at St. Ambrose: Kaneland alum Jamie Martens is a sophomore guard on the Saint Ambrose University women's basketball team in Davenport, Iowa.
Martens, the daughter of former East Aurora boys basketball coach Scott Martens, has started all nine games she has played in this season and is averaging 7.6 points per game on the strength of .511 shooting from the field and .833 shooting from the free-throw line (20 of 24). Martens also has 22 assists, 8 steals and 26 total rebounds so far for the Fighting Bees, who were 4-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play to start the week.
In a recent 69-61 loss to Saint Xavier, Martens had 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 34 minutes of action. In an 82-68 triumph over Trinity International, Martens had 9 points and 3 assists in 29 minutes of work.
Peterson at Oshkosh: Batavia grad Eric Peterson is a sophomore starting guard on the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh men's basketball team that is off to a 4-2 start. Peterson has played in all 6 games thus far and is shooting 41.1 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from the 3-point line and averaging 10.7 points per game, which ranks second on the team.
Additionally, Peterson is pulling in 5.5 rebounds per game and averaging 2.7 assists per contest. In a recent 92-66 win against Lawrence University, Peterson had 4 rebounds and 2 assists. He had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in a recent 99-80 win against Edgewood College, and in a 97-92 loss to Elmhurst College, Peterson logged 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, and hit a pair of 3-point shots.
Coffey at Indiana Wesleyan: Another Batavia alum having success on the hardwood is Canaan Coffey, who has played in all 7 games thus far for the Indiana Wesleyan men's basketball team.
Coffey is averaging nearly 28 minutes of action and is shooting 55.7 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the foul line. Coffey is averaging 11.9 points per game to go with 5.3 rebounds. In a 74-62 loss to No. 6 ranked Mt. Vernon Nazarene (Ohio), Coffey had 12 points and 4 rebounds. All of his points came via 4-for-8 shooting from the 3-point line. In a 99-89 win against IU-East in Richmond, Indiana, Coffey had 11 points and 8 rebounds and sank 3 three-pointers for the No. 4-ranked Wildcats.
Miszkiewicz at Incarnate Word: South Elgin graduate Vincent Miszkiewicz is a key player for the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team operating out of San Antonio, Texas. Miszkiewicz has played in all 8 games this season as a starter and is averaging 24.4 minutes. He's fourth on the team in scoring at 7.6 points per game, but is leading the Cardinals in rebounding at 8.6 per contest. Miszkiewicz also has a team-high 9 blocked shots.
The 6-7 freshman has enjoyed double-digit rebounding efforts in 4 games already and had another one where he took in 9 boards. In a game against Bethune-Cookman, Miszkiewicz had 9 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. He finished with 6 points and 11 rebounds against St. Francis out of Joliet and also had a season-high 12 points and 12 rebounds in a contest against SIU-Edwardsville. Against Texas Lutheran, Miszkiewicz had 12 points and 6 rebounds.
In his first collegiate contest against Missouri, Miszkiewicz had 4 points and 10 rebounds.
Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley-area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at mjm890@gmail.com Winter sports submissions are encouraged, as well as any season-ending fall sports submissions.