Northeastern’s Maralene Zwarich (Merriam, Kan./Shawnee Mission North) has been named the Wilson Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks, while freshmen Alexis Castro (Chula Vista, Calif./Coronado) of Vermont and Laura Sario (Espoo, Finland/Etela-Tapiolanlukio) of Binghamton share this week’s Rookie of the Week award. The honors were announced on Monday (January 17).
Zwarich led the Huskies to two conference victories on the week as she extended her conference-best double-digit scoring streak to nine contests. Zwarich pumped in 21 points in NU’s win over Hartford, including 11-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe and 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Against UMBC, Zwarich tied a season-high with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. She added two assists and eight rebounds in the win over the Retrievers. Zwarich remains the leader on the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game and is the top scorer in conference games with an impressive 20.5 ppg average through four games.
Castro helped propel the Catamounts to two league victories on the week averaged 13.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg and shot 50 percent from the floor. She posted her fourth-straight career-high with a game-high 22 points (7-for-10 from the field) and grabbed eight rebounds in 25 minutes to lead Vermont past Stony Brook to start the week. Castro then added four points and five rebounds in 12 minutes to help the Catamounts defeat Boston U. and move into a first-place tie in the America East standings.
The Bearcats’ Sario was also instrument in both of Binghamton’s conference victories on the week. Sario had 12 both games and also had 7 rebounds and three assists against New Hampshire on Saturday. In the past eight games, Sario has averaged 9.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 apg and 1.2 spg. She has also reached double figures in each of her last four games. Against America East Conference opponents this season, Sario is averaging 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists.