Carter Reese, Abi Akamine named Polar Bear of the Month winners for December

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — Freshman Carter Reese (Westerville/North) and junior Abi Akamine (Lahaina, Hawaii/Lahainaluna) have been selected as the Ohio Northern athletic department's Polar Bear of the Month award winners for December.

The award is given monthly to the student-athletes who best represent Ohio Northern University inside and outside of athletics within their given sport and season.

Reese, an electrical engineering major and guard on the men's basketball team, averaged 16.2 points and 29.2 minutes in six December games, scoring 20-plus in three of them. He twice recorded a career-high 25 points in that stretch, doing so at Heidelberg on Dec. 6 and at Marietta on Dec. 16.

Reese also tallied 25 rebounds, 15 assists and eight steals in December. He recorded career-highs of eight rebounds, six assists and three steals against Ursinus (Pa.) on Dec. 20 when he also scored 21 points.

Reese has played in all 13 games this season, starting nine of them. He is averaging a team-best 15.1 points to go with 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 28.4 minutes per game.

He enters the week ranked eighth in the Ohio Athletic Conference in scoring and fourth in 3-pointers made (29) and 3-point percentage (.414).

Akamine, a pharmacy major and guard on the women's basketball team, averaged 10.8 points and 27.8 minutes in six December games. She had double-figure scoring totals in three of those games, including a career-high 23 points in a 69-50 win at Mount Union on Dec. 9. Her previous career-best scoring total was 14 points, which she recorded during her sophomore season.

Akamine added 19 rebounds, four assists and seven steals in December.

She has started all 12 games this season and is averaging 8.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game.

In 52 career games at ONU, including 44 starts, she is averaging 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game and has 50 assists and 32 steals to her credit.

2023-24 Polar Bear of the Month Honorees