IRVING, Texas – Iowa State redshirt sophomore Ella Zimmerman has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for her performance against UNI, the conference announced Wednesday.

Zimmerman, a Vanderbilt transfer, was only able to compete in one match this week, as an injury kept her out of the Drake contest. She made her impact felt, though, in Sunday’s matchup with UNI, as the Cumming, Ga., product recorded three points.

Ella played 70 minutes of action on Sunday, spearheading the Cyclone backline. Going into Sunday, Zimmerman didn’t have a single stat in her 29 previous games. She made sure to change that, stuffing the box score.

Against the Panthers, Zimmerman picked up her first career point in the 48th minute of action, feeding a ball from midfield to Hannah Shaw at the box, who then crossed a Panther defender and netted the Cyclones’ fourth goal of the contest.

She wasn’t done there, however, as she would later go on to score her first career goal. After a first-half shot on goal, Zimmerman got another crack in the 68th minute. She was playing up for a corner and was fed the ball out of the set but missed high off the crossbar. The ball serendipitously bounced back to her, and she buried the team’s sixth and final score.

She is the first Cyclone to win Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors since Lindsey Hendon did so on Sept. 6, 2016. Zimmerman is the sixth Cyclone to ever earn the award, joining the likes of Beth Chapman, Joanna Haig, Ann Gleason, Maddie Jobe and Hendon.

ISU will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 1, when it heads to Memphis to face off with a top-ten Memphis Tiger program in its second road contest of the season. The Tigers will be the first ranked opponent for the Cyclones this year. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be livestreamed on ESPN+.

Big 12 Weekly Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Week: Callie Conrad (BU)
Defensive Player of the Week: Ella Zimmerman
Goalkeeper of the Week: Azul Alvarez (BU), Jordan Nytes (CU)
Freshman of the Week: Bella Pierotti (OSU)