New Hampshire’s Ray Williams (Mississauga, Ontario/The Woodlands School) has been named Wilson Player of the Week for the first time in her career, while freshman forward Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) of Hartford receives her fourth America East Rookie of the Week award of the season. The awards were doled out on Monday (February 21).
Fighting sore knees and a case of bronchitis, Williams averaged 17.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg to lead the Wildcats in a heart-breaking loss to Hartford and an important win over Vermont. With her team down by double digits, Williams scored 10 consecutive Wildcat points to start an improbable comeback as UNH came from 25 points down to go up by two with less than three seconds remaining against the Hawks. Williams scored a career-high 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field. She also pulled down nine rebounds, five on the offensive side, and blocked two shots. She continued her solid play against the Catamounts, scoring 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, grabbing five rebounds, and blocking two more shots. Her play in the second half led another comeback, as the Wildcats were down by six points to Vermont before coming on for the victory and sole possession of third place in the league standings.
Hood averaged a team-high 13.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg as the Hawks split with New Hampshire and Maine last week. Hood scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in a 61-60 win at New Hampshire on Wednesday. She also posted 13 points and a team-high six boards in a 56-51 loss to Maine on Saturday. Hood has reached double figures in four of her last five games. She ranks third on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.8 rpg).