Donaldson, Wilson named Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum basketball players Donovan Donaldson and Sydney Wilson have been named the Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month for December.

Donaldson, a junior guard from Nashville, Tennessee, averaged 16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and a team-high 5.8 assists per game during December.

After opening the month with nine points against second-ranked Queens, he followed with four consecutive games with 14 or more points and averaged 18.8 points per game during that span.  He scored 19 points going 8-for-13 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point land in an 87-73 South Atlantic Conference win at Catawba.

Donaldson added 18 points and eight assists against Coker, 24 markers and seven assists at Wingate and posted 14 points and eight assists in a non-conference clash with Barton.  He also posted a team-best 11 points and four assists in an exhibition contest at East Tennessee State University.

For the month, Donaldson totaled 84 points, 18 rebounds and 29 assists while shooting 77 percent from the free throw line.  This season he is averaging 14.8 points per game which is 10^th in the league, while his 4.3 assists per contest are fourth in the conference.

Wilson started the month with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 66-57 win over Queens University of Charlotte. She then netted a team-best 18 points on the road against Catawba. Wilson tallied 12 points in her first start of the season, an 88-77 win over Coker, before connecting on a career-best six three-pointers at Wingate.

Wilson helped spark a 71-69 Pioneer upset of Division I UNC Greensboro by shooting 6-for-13 from the field, including four three-pointers, to finish with 18 points in the victory over her hometown school. Wilson averaged 17.0 points per game in three Division I exhibitions this season.

For the month, Wilson made a team-best 10 three-pointers and shot 15-for-18 (83.3 percent) from the foul line. In addition to her 16.8 points per game, Wilson also averaged 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.8 assists per game during December. Overall, Wilson leads the Pioneers in scoring at 13.7 points per game (10th in the South Atlantic Conference) and is fifth in the SAC in three-pointers per game at 2.3 and eighth in free throw percentage at 78.8 percent (26-for-33).

The Tusculum Student-Athlete of the Month Award is sponsored by Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar of Greeneville.  The Applebee's Student-Athlete of the Month Award honors one male and one female student-athlete each month from an in-season sport during the 2017-2018 academic year, recognizing their hard work, effort and performance.

2017-2018 Applebee's Student-Athletes of the Month