CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - UMass Lowell went 2-0 last week with a pair of home wins to capture its first Player of the Week honor of the season, while another stellar game from a Vermont freshman led to the team's second-straight win. Here are the week five award winners:
Player of the Week
Shannon Samuels, UMass Lowell, Sr., Windsor, Conn.
- Led UMass Lowell to a pair of wins over Yale and Bryant, leading the conference in scoring at 27.5 points per game last week.
- Also added 4.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and from 3-point range.
- Totaled 24 points with three steals, three assists and three rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting in a win over Yale.
- Scored 31 points, including a pair of go-ahead free throws in the final seconds, in a win over Bryant. Added five assists and two steals in the game while shooting 12-of-22 from the floor.
Rookie of the Week
Sydney Smith, Vermont, Fr., G, Vernon Hills, Ill.
- Scored a career-high 25 points and added six rebounds in her only game last week.
- Helped Vermont to an OT win at home over Wagner, hitting four 3-pointers in the contest.
- Shot 8-of-15 from the floor and added two steals and two blocks.
- Set a new career-high for the sixth-straight game.
- Hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left to force overtime.
Notes
- Maine won its sixth-straight game for the first time since 2004-05 and is 4-0 in December for the first time since 1997 after beating Northeastern on Saturday.
- Albany's Shereesha Richards moved into sixth all-time in Albany scoring history with 1,120 points.
- Albany won its fifth-straight Albany Cup, beating Siena on Saturday night,
- Hartford's win over Penn State gave the America East three wins over Power 5 Conferences for the first time since 2009-10.
- UMBC's Capree Garner has four 20+ point scoring efforts and has reached double figures in all eight of her games this season.
- Stony Brook's Kori Bayne-Walker hit a buzzer-beater vs. Morgan State to give the Seawolves their first road win of the season and move to 5-1 all-time vs. Morgan State.
Weekly Awards
Nov. 17 - Player of the Week: Shereesha Richards, Albany; Rookie of the Week: Imani Watkins, Binghamton
Nov. 24 - Player of the Week: Elizabeth Belanger, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Imani Watkins, Binghamton
Dec. 1 - Co-Players of the Week: Liz Wood, Maine & Imani Tate, Albany; Rookie of the Week: Jasmine Sina, Binghamton
Dec. 8 - Player of the Week: Liz Wood, Maine; Rookie of the Week: Sydney Smith, Vermont
Dec. 15 - Player of the Week: Shannon Samuels, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Sydney Smith, Vermont