Women's Basketball Weekly Honors - Jan. 12
Kelly McCarthy
CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - WEEKLY REPORT (JAN. 12)
RICHMOND, Va. (January 12, 2015) – James Madison University redshirt-senior
Lauren Okafor was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Basketball Player of the Week while Hofstra University’s
Ashunae Durant was named the CAA Rookie of the Week.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Lauren Okafor • James Madison
R-Senior | Center | Hamden, Conn./Hopkins School (Providence)
Center Lauren Okafor helped JMU to a 3-0 week by averaging 14.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game. She shot 66.7 percent (16-for-24) from the field and did not commit a turnover in 82 minutes play. At William & Mary, she had a career-high six blocks to go along with 16 points and nine rebounds. She posted her sixth double-double of the year against UNCW, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also had 13 points, seven boards, and two blocks at Northeastern. This is the second CAA Player of the Week honor for Okafor this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Ashunae Durant • Hofstra University
Freshman | Guard | Newark, N.J./ Bloomfield Tech
Freshman Ashunae Durant averaged a double-double to help the Pride to a 3-0 week. Durant averaged 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds on the week. She opened with week with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Northeastern. The guard followed that up with a career night at Drexel, with a 21-point, 17-rebound effort, and hit the game-winning basket. This is the fourth CAA Rookie of the Week award for Durant. She was also named the CAA Player of the Week on December 15.
#CAAHoops – The Week that Was
All ten teams played three conference games this week, closing out a stretch of four CAA games in eight days.
College of Charleston (3-12; 1-3 CAA): The Cougars picked up their first conference win of the season, topping Delaware, 55-49, to open the week but fell to UNCW and Elon. Sophomore
Bre Bolden had a strong week for CofC, averaging 20.3, including a 29-point effort against Elon, and 4.3 steals per game.
Delaware (6-9; 1-3 CAA): After losses to College of Charleston and Elon, the Blue Hens notched their first CAA win of the season by defeating Northeastern, 54-48, to end the week. Sophomore
Hannah Jardine, who has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games, averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds over the three contests last week.
Drexel (9-6; 3-1 CAA): The Dragons went 2-1 on the week, topping Elon and UNCW while falling 53-52 in overtime to Hofstra for their lone home loss of the year.
Sarah Curran was Drexel’s leading scorer in two of their three contests, averaging 16.7 points per game, along with 6.7 rebounds. Senior forward
Jamila Thompson put together her first-career double-double in a monster effort against UNCW, finishing with career highs of 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals.
Elon (10-5; 3-1 CAA): The Phoenix went 2-1 on the week and has taken five of their last six games. After falling to Drexel, Elon posted wins against William & Mary and College of Charleston.
Zora Stephenson averaged 13.0 points per game on the week, including a 27-point performance against College of Charleston which featured seven three-pointers. Rookie
Malaya Johnson averaged 9.7 points and 5.0 rebounds on the week.
Hofstra (11-4; 4-0 CAA): The Pride, which has won 10 of their last 12 games, remained undefeated in CAA play with a 3-0 week. Hofstra picked up a pair of overtime wins against Northeastern and Drexel and closed out the week with a win at Towson. Hofstra was powered by rookie guard
Ashunae Durant who averaged a double-double with 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds. Against Northeastern, three players posted double-doubles, including
Krystal Luciano who had 14 assists and 14 points. The 14 assists are tops in the CAA this season for a single game.
James Madison (13-2; 4-0 CAA): The Dukes went 3-0 this week to remain perfect in CAA play after topping UNCW, Northeastern, and William & Mary. JMU was led by
Lauren Okafor, who averaged 14.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game. Rookie
Hailee Barron had a solid week, averaging 5.7 points per game, including a career-best 10 points against Northeastern. It was a week of milestones as James Madison became the third NCAA Division I program in history to record 1,000 victories, senior
Toia Giggetts recorded her 1,000th career point, and guard
Angela Mickens dished out her 300th career assist.
UNCW (6-9; 2-2 CAA): The Seahawks picked up a win over College of Charleston but fell to James Madison and Drexel this week. Junior guard
Shatia Cole matched her season high by scoring 14 points in the loss at Drexel while sophomore guard
Jasmine Steele scored a season-high 10 points against the Dragons, including a stretch of nine consecutive points during a 14-0 UNCW run
Northeastern (3-11; 0-4 CAA): The Huskies were left seeking their first CAA win of the season after falling to Hofstra, James Madison, and Delaware. Junior
Samantha DeFreese averaged 17.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game over three outings last week while senior
A’lece Mark averaged 16.3 points. Together, DeFreese and Mark combined for 101 of Northeastern’s 186 points last week.
Towson (6-10; 2-2 CAA): The Tigers went 2-1 last week with wins over William & Mary and Delaware before a tough loss to Hofstra. Redshirt senior forward
LaTorri Hines-Allen led the Tigers with an average of 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. She had a double-double in two of the three contests and now leads the league this season with eight double-doubles. Senior guard
Ciara Webb added 14.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last week.
William & Mary (6-9; 0-4 CAA): The Tribe is on the hunt for their first conference win after tough losses to Towson, Elon, and James Madison. William & Mary was led by
Alex Masaquel who averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Sophomore
Marlena Tremba hit her 100th three-pointer last week.
CAA Championship Tickets: Tickets for the 2015 CAA Women's Basketball Championship, March 12-15, at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. are currently on sale at
www.caasports.com/tickets.