NEW YORK (Feb. 24, 2015) ---
Aliyyah Handford of St. John’s and
Christina Barone of Mount St. Vincent have been named Women’s Division I and Divisions II-III Players of the Week, respectively, by the Met Basketball Writers Assn.
The designations, for games played Feb. 16-22, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
It was the second time this season Handford has been named MBWA Player of the Week.
A 5-9 junior guard from Newark, NJ, Handford led the Red Storm (19-8) to a pair of homecourt victories by averaging 26 points on 60% shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds and four assists.
Handford poured in a game-high 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting in a 56-51 win over Villanova. She pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, recorded three steals and scored five of the team’s final eight points.
In a 75-61 triumph over Georgetown, Handford registered a season-high 27 points, a career-high seven assists, plus six rebounds and four steals. She hit 10-of-19 from the floor and 7-of-9 at the foul line.
A 5-2 sophomore guard from Staten Island, NY, Barone --- who was named Skyline Conference player of the week --- led the Dolphins (20-5) to a 2-0 week to close out the regular season by averaging 21.5 points, 12.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Barone opened the week with 22 points, including 8-of-8 shooting at the free-throw line, and had six assists in a 94-72 win over Old Westbury. She then posted her first career triple-double and the first for the program since February 23, 2008, in a 111-51 triumph over Yeshiva. She poured in 21 points and added career-highs in assists with 18 and steals with 13. Barone nearly missed a quad-double after hauling in nine rebounds.
For the week, Barone shot 45.8% (11-of-24) from the field, 53.8% (7-of-13) from 3-point range and was perfect (14-of-14) at the free-throw line.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week:
Janee Johnson, Seton Hall; Kelsey Minato, Army; Sabre Proctor, Stony Brook.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week:
Jah-Leah Ellis, College of New Rochelle; Deja Gabbidon, Dominican; Sheridan Taylor, Baruch.
Previous MBWA 2014-15 Women’s Players of the Week: Dec. 9, Betnijah Laney, Rutgers; Dec. 16, Kelsey Minato, Army; Dec. 23, Aliyyah Handford, St. John’s, and Alyson Caiazzo, Manhattanville (co-winners); Jan. 13, Ka-Deidre Simmons, Seton Hall, Div. I . . . Madison Rowland, Queens, Divs. II-III; Jan. 20, Ka-Deidre Simmons, Seton Hall, Div. I . . . Bria Smith, NJCU, Divs. II-III; Jan. 27, Kelsey Minato, Army, Div. I . . . Jah-Leah Ellis, College of New Rochelle, Divs. II-III; Feb. 3, Kelsey Minato, Army, and Samantha Cooper, Fairfield (co-winners), Div. I . . . Melissa Peng, NYU, Divs. II-III; Feb. 10, Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, Div. I . . . Kelly Fraser, Mount St. Vincent, Divs. II-III; Feb. 17, Jasmine Nwajei, Wagner, Div. I . . . Jah-Leah Ellis, College of New Rochelle, Divs. II-III.
--- www.metbasketballwriters.org ---