Albany’s Danielle Hutcheson (Phoenix, Ariz./Greenway) led the Great Danes to two victories on the week, averaging 19.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 3.0 bpg enroute to the Wilson Player of the Week award, while Laine Kurpniece (Riga, Latvia/ Secondary School 47) of Binghamton wins her first America East Rookie of the Week accolade.
The honor is Hutcheson’s second of the season. She notched her ninth double-double of the season with a game-high 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks against Stony Brook and followed that with her third 20-point effort of the season, scoring a season-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting in a come-from-behind win over Northeastern. Hutcheson added eight rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals against the Huskies. Hutcheson helped the Great Danes snap a two-game losing streak and move into a tie for fifth in the standings. For the season, Hutcheson boosted her average to 15.0 points and 9.6 rebounds a game. Her 41 blocks are fifth on Albany’s single-season chart. For her career, Hutcheson is second all-time in scoring with 1,354 (one of only two players in school history to score 1,300 points).
In a week dominated by stellar defensive efforts, Kurpniece averaged 9.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg as Binghamton swept Hartford and Boston U. in its final two home games of the season. She had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds in the win over the Hawks and a team-high 11 points and five rebounds in the win over the Terriers. For the season, Kurpniece has reached double figures in scoring six times, led the Bearcats in scoring four times and in rebounding five times.