Junior forward Heather Ernest (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) of Maine was named Wilson Player of the Week, while freshman guard Erika Messam (Pemberton, NJ/Pemberton Township) of Hartford was named Rookie of the Week by America East on January 6.
Ernest averaged 22.7 points and 9.0 rebounds over three games during the break. She was named to LaSalle Invitational All-Tournament Team. She scored a career-high 31 points on 12-23 shooting from the field, and sparked a Black Bear comeback in a 75-74 loss to Holy Cross in the first round of the LaSalle Invitational. UMaine trailed by 17 with 13:28 to play, but Ernest scored 19 points over the remainder of the game, including a field goal and foul shot that tied the game at 74-74 with 28 seconds to play. She also logged 12 rebounds against the Crusaders for her third double-double of the season. Ernest tallied 19 points in 17 minutes of play against Robert Morris in the LaSalle Invitational consolation game, on 7-9 shooting from the field. She scored 18 points with nine rebounds against Buffalo, shooting 7-13 from the field. She pulled down nine rebounds, including six offensive boards, and had three assists and two steals against the Bulls.
Messam averaged 13.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg as the Hawks went 1-2 over the past two weeks. Messam was named to the all-tournament team at the Saint Joseph’s Hawk Classic on December 28-29 after leading the Hawks in scoring in two consecutive games. The freshman scored a game-high 16 points on seven of fourteen shooting from the field against Siena and notched a career-high with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 60-47 win over UMBC in the consolation game. Messam’s double-double was the first of the year for Hartford. She also added eight points and three rebounds against Yale on January 2. Messam shot 47 percent (16-34) from the field over three games.