Purdue Calumet’s Cassidy Deno Named CCAC Player of the Week 2016

cassideny-deno-ccac-potwWith another blistering scoring performance in a pair of games last week, Cassidy Deno of the No. 15-ranked Purdue University Calumet women’s basketball team has been selected as the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week, as released by the league.

Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) averaged a conference-best 28.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists in the Peregrines’ split last week. In a tight 77-67 loss at No. 5 St. Francis (Ill.) Feb. 10, she poured in 27 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line. In the Peregrines’ 70-61 win over Holy Cross (Ind.) Feb. 13, she followed that performance with 29 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor and a perfect 12-of-12 effort at the charity stripe.

For the week, Deno shot 42.4 percent (14-of-33) from the field and 96.2 percent (25-of-26) from the free-throw line, plus added 3-of-7 makes from behind the 3-point line.

Deno’s offensive game has surged over the last six games, as the 5-foot-11 guard has averaged 26.8 points per contest, including a career-high 39-point effort against Olivet Nazarene Feb. 3.

The conference honor marks the second for Deno this season and third of her career.

Purdue Calumet returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 17, when the Peregrines conclude regular-season play with a CCAC contest at Trinity Christian. Purdue Calumet currently stands 21-7 overall and 12-6 in the CCAC, sitting in third place in the South Division behind No. 7 Olivet Nazarene (15-2) and No. 2 St. Francis (15-2). The Peregrines stand sixth in the overall standings but are one game ahead of five teams in front of of them.

The overall top eight teams make the CCAC Tournament, with quarterfinals set for Feb. 23. Seeds 1-5 will host those games at individual sites.