BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Jan. 13, 2020) – Lotta Vehka-Aho of the Florida Atlantic University women’s basketball team has been recognized as the Conference USA Freshman of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday. This is Vehka-Aho’s second time receiving the award this season, becoming the first Owl to receive more than one C-USA Freshman of the Week honor in a season.
Vehka-Aho had an unstoppable weekend, averaging 24.5 points and six boards, while tallying seven assists and steals, a piece, all while playing 90 straight minutes. The freshman commenced the showstopping weekend by posting a career-high 28 points along with a career-high four 3-pointers against Rice on Thursday. Vehka-Aho also shot 57.9 percent from the field, while pulling down five rebounds, tallying three assists and matching a career-high four steals.
The guard followed up Thursday’s performance with another dominant showing, recording a team-leading 21 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals, while playing all 50 minutes in a double overtime feat over North Texas, 84-78. Vehka-Aho came up with a clutch layup with one second left on the clock in overtime to tie the game and send it into a second overtime period and eventually a victory.
In her first season as an Owl, Vehka-Aho is averaging 12.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, while tallying a team-leading 49 assists and tying the team for the most steals with 27. The Vimpeli, Finland native went 9-9 from the charity strike over the weekend to improve her free throw percentage to 89.4 percent, which is the second best in the conference and ranked 13th nationally. Vehka-Aho is ranked No. 5 in C-USA in points per game in conference play, averaging 17.3 points per game in the first four games of the conference slate.
The Owls have been recognized with three C-USA Player and Freshman of the Week awards this season, which ties for the most since the 2015-16 season. Crystal Primmwon C-USA Player of the Week on November 25 and Vehka-Aho’s first award came on Dec. 16 following her performance against Central Connecticut State.
FAU will hit the road next week to face Middle Tennessee on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. The Owls will return to Abessinio Court at RoofClaim.com arena on Thursday, Jan. 23 to face Charlotte at 7 p.m. For tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit fausports.com.
For complete coverage of FAU women’s basketball, follow us on Twitter (@FAU_WBB), Instagram (@FAU_WBB) and Facebook (Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball).
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Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 4-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 52-28 victory over SMU in the 2019 Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visitwww.fau.edu.
