From Case Western Reserve University Atheltics
Case Western Reserve University senior guard/forward Isabella Mills has been selected as one of the 10 women's finalists for the prestigious 2023 Jostens Trophy.
The Jostens Trophy honors - one for men's basketball and one for women's basketball - are national awards created by the Rotary Club of Salem and sponsored by Jostens, Inc., to recognize the most outstanding men's and women's Division III basketball players of the year. The awards focus on three major criteria: basketball ability, academic prowess, and service to one's surrounding communities. The 2023 season marks the 25th time the Jostens Trophy honors will be awarded.
To view the full list of Jostens' Trophy finalists this year, go to https://odac.prestosports.com/jostens/2023/releases/031523-jostens-finalists.
This is the latest in a slew of postseason honors for Mills, who was named to the D3hoops.com All-Region 7 Second Team earlier in the week, and to the All-University Athletic Association First Team earlier in the month.
Mills turned in the best year of her career in 2022-23, leading the team with 18.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.0 steals, while ranking second on the squad with 0.8 blocks and 3.1 assists per game. She finished the year second among all-conference players in points per game, seventh in rebounds, eighth in assists, fourth in steals, and ninth in blocks. In UAA games, she averaged 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. She totaled 10 games of 20 or more points, six of which came in conference play, and scored 30 or more points twice. One of those games was a career-high 36-point effort against WashU, during which she set conference and program records with 10 made three-point shots. She added 11 rebounds in the game, one of five double-doubles during the year, and was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week after. Mills also reached the 1,000-point mark for her career and set a school single-season record with 74 made three-point shots in the team's season finale against Carnegie Mellon.
Academically, Mills has accumulated a 3.917 cumulative grade point average as a communication sciences major with minors in psychology and sports medicine. She was named to the Dean's High Honors List for six semesters during her collegiate career, is a two-time Van Horn Society inductee, and is a three-time UAA All-Academic honoree.
Mills has also been active in the community, spending time as a volunteer at the East Cleveland Salvation Army, the Operation Smile University Club, the National Youth Sports Program, and the University Hospital Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. She has also worked at the Cleveland Clinic as a nursing assistant and as a volunteer with the CWRU Athletic Training Staff.
The Rotary Club of Salem is responsible for the initial review of the nominees, which it conducts over a two-week period. The Club's Jostens Trophy Committee objectively reviews the nominees and uses a numerical system to pare down the pools to an initial list of 20 finalists -- 10 for the men's award and 10 for the women's trophy.
The finalists will now be reviewed by the Jostens Trophy National Selection Committee. The committee is composed of men and women from across the country. The committee features current and former athletic administrators and head coaches, past Jostens Trophy recipients, and select members of the Division III media. The committee will spend the next two weeks reviewing the nominees with the aim of announcing the two winners on Thursday, March 23.