RICHMOND, Va. (January 15, 2018) – Drexel University senior
Kelsi Lidge and James Madison University sophomore
Kamiah Smalls were named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Basketball Players of the Week while University of Delaware guard
Justina Mascaro picked up CAA Rookie of the Week honors.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Kelsi Lidge | Drexel University
Senior | Forward | Aurora, Colo./Regis Jesuit
Senior Kelsi Lidge helped Drexel to a pair of wins last week by averaging 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists. After shaking off an 0-for-8 start from the field, Lidge went 10-for-16 the rest of the week. Against the Tribe, she single-handedly erased a 44-36 deficit in the fourth quarter with eight straight points in a span of 3:29, tying the score at 44 with 2:47 to play. Lidge assisted on Drexel's two remaining field goals in regulation, including the game-tying three-pointer with five seconds to play. Playing all 45 minutes, Lidge also grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and tied a career-high with eight assists and added five steals and two blocks. In the win over UNCW, Lidge led all scorers with 18 points, going 8-for-14 from the floor. She added five rebounds and five assists without a turnover against the Seahawks.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Kamiah Smalls | James Madison University
Sophomore | Guard | Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann Goretti
Sophomore Kamiah Smalls powered James Madison to a 70-67 victory over defending CAA champion Elon with a team-high 21 points. Smalls scored the final seven points of the game, taking the Dukes from down two to winning by three and remaining perfect in league play at 5-0. Smalls reached the 20-point mark for just the fourth time in her career and extended her double-digit scoring streak to 16 games. She tied a career high with seven made free throws, going 7-for-10 at the line, including a pair with two seconds left to push the Dukes’ lead to three points. Smalls added a team-best eight rebounds, including six in the second half, in JMU’s only game of the week.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Justina Mascaro | University of Delaware
Freshman | Guard | Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park
Guard Justina Mascaro helped Delaware to a 2-0 week by averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds and 16.0 minutes off the bench. In the 58-51 win at Hofstra on Friday, she posted five points, a rebound and a steal. In the 51-49 win over Towson on Sunday, Mascaro scored five points and grabbed five rebounds.
#CAAHoops – The Week that Was
Charleston (5-12; 1-5): The Cougars had a pair of road losses to Northeastern and Hofstra.
Deja Ford was the Cougars leading scorer last week, averaging 12.0 points per game.
Delaware (11-5; 4-1): The Blue Hens extended their winning streak to four games with victories over Hofstra and Towson last week. Delaware, which has won seven of its last eight games, improves to 4-1 in league play.
Nicole Enabosi averaged 13.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots to pace the Hens. Rookie
Justina Mascaro added 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
Drexel (12-5; 4-1): The Dragons went 2-0 last week, picking up an overtime win at William & Mary before returning home for a victory over UNCW.
Kelsi Lidge averaged 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists. At William & Mary, she scored eight straight points to erase a Drexel deficit and force overtime.
Elon (10-6; 2-3): The Phoenix dropped two road games to James Madison and William & Mary. It’s the first time they’ve lost two games in a row since dropping three to ACC foes since 2016. Sophomore
Ra’Shika White averaged 19.0 points and 12.0 rebounds while
Shay Burnett averaged 17.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists on the week.
Hofstra (9-8; 3-3): The Pride split home games, falling to Delaware before downing Charleston. Senior
Ashunae Durant posted double-doubles in both of the Pride's games this weekend, averaging 12.5 points and 13.5 rebounds.
James Madison (9-7; 5-0): The Dukes remained undefeated in CAA play with a victory Elon. Sophomore
Kamiah Smalls delivered 21 points, including the final seven points for the Dukes in the 70-67 win, and grabbed eight rebounds.
UNCW (7-10; 0-6): The Seahawks had a pair of road losses to Towson and Delaware.
Madison Raque averaged 16.5 points for the weekend, which included a 29-point effort at Towson.
Northeastern (8-8; 3-2): The Huskies picked up a win over Charleston in its only game of the week.
Jess Genco led Northeastern in scoring for the third time in five conference games, finishing with 17 points on 58.3 percent (7-for-12) shooting. On the boards,
Loren Lassiter grabbed 13 rebounds. Rookie
Jasmin Watson added four points and four rebounds against the Cougars.
Towson (7-10; 2-4) The Tigers split games, picking up a home win over UNCW before falling to the road to Delaware.
Nukiya Mayo and
Mary Cuevas both averaged double-doubles. Mayo posted 16.5 points and 12.5 rebounds while Cuevas had 16.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.
William & Mary (12-4; 3-2): The Tribe split home games, falling in overtime to Drexel before topping Elon. Junior
Bianca Boggs helped the Tribe to a 1-1 week as she averaged 18.5 points over the Green and Gold two games. Senior
Abby Rendle blocked her 300th career shot against Elon on Sunday and averaged 12.0 points on .667 shooting and 5.5 blocks per game. Rendle is only one of three current NCAA players to have 300+ blocks joining Duke's Bego Faz Davalos (357) and South Carolina's A'ja Wilson (311).