INDIANA, Pa. – Junior forward Lexi Griggs was named the 2018-19 IUP Women's Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, announced Friday, June 21 by the IUP Athletic Department.
 
The award is part of the Crimson & Gray Awards, which recognize the top athletes, coaches, teams and performances of the IUP Athletics season. The Awards are in their third year of existence.
 
Griggs stepped in as a first-year starter to add valuable offensive and defensive punch for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champs and national semifinalists.
 
Griggs started 33 of 34 games and improved her scoring average by more than eight points to 10.9 per game in 2018-19. She was IUP's second-leading rebounded with 5.3 boards per game and added 40 steals and 27 blocks.
 
She also shot 57.5 percent (164-285) from the floor, the third highest single season mark in program history.
 
Griggs earned PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors in February after posting back-to-back career games, scoring 24 points against Clarion then 28 points at Cal U, shooting a combined 25-of-30 from the floor. She also went for 16 points in IUP's NCAA quarterfinal win over Azusa Pacific.
 
Griggs is the first women's basketball player to win IUP Breakthrough Athlete of the Year honors.
 
About the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Award
The IUP Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Award is given each year to a first-year starter or first-time key contributor who has improved their season performance dramatically over the last year. The Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Award began in 2017 with the creation of the Crimson & Gray Awards.
 
About the Crimson & Gray Awards
The Crimson & Gray Awards are in their third year of existence and consist of 18 total categories - nine women, nine men - with top performers and performances from the 2018-19 year eligible.
 
Awards include: Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year, Performance of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Postseason Performer of the Year, Senior of the Year, Team of the Year and Athlete of the Year.

The IUP Sports Information Office collected award nominations from its coaches, with those nominees voted on by a select panel to narrow each category down to finalists. That panel votes again to determine the winners.
 
Up next
The 2018-19 IUP Men's and Women's Postseason Performer of the Year awards will be announced Monday.
 
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