BIG EAST Player of the Week
Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame, Jr., G (South Bend, Ind.)
Diggins averaged 18.0 points and 2.5 steals per game last week in helping Notre Dame extend its winning streak to 12 games with BIG EAST wins at Seton Hall and at home against No. 2/2 Connecticut (the latter breaking the Huskies’ 57-game regular season conference winning streak). Diggins scored a team-high 14 points and added a game-high three assists as Notre Dame rolled to a 74-36 win, one of its largest ever at SHU’s Walsh Gymnasium. Three days later in a nationally-televised game at Purcell Pavilion, Diggins scored 16 of her team-high 22 points after halftime, and fueled a key 12-2 second-half run (eight points, two steals, one rebound in a span of 3:03) as Notre Dame rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit to defeat Connecticut in overtime, 74-67. Diggins also added a game-high four steals.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Bria Smith, Louisville, Fr., G (Masapequa, N.Y.)
Smith led the Cardinals averaging 16.5 ppg in a 1-1 week. Against Marquette, she had 16 points and five rebounds, while grabbing a team-high three steals. She finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line. Against St. John’s, Smith finished with 17 points and three steals. She shot 66.7 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from the free throw line. Smith also finished the week averaging 3.5 rebounds and three steals per game. She shot 50 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line.
HONOR ROLL
Bria Hartley, Connecticut, So., G
Hartley scored 25 points, shooting 53 percent from the field, and added nine rebounds and six assists in an overtime loss at No. 3/3 Notre Dame. In a win against West Virginia, Hartley had 18 points.
April Sykes, Rutgers, Sr., G/F
Sykes averaged 12.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg in a 2-0 week for the Scarlet Knights. She had 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals against Syracuse and followed that up with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds against Cincinnati. Against the Bearcats, she added a season-high four assists.
Shenneika Smith, St. John’s, Jr., G
Smith averaged 14.5 ppg in a 2-0 week for the Red Storm. She recorded 18 points and seven rebounds against Providence and had 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks in a win against No. 14/12 Louisville.
Iasia Hemingway, Syracuse, Sr., F
Hemingway had 14 points in a loss at No. 10/10 Rutgers, along with six rebounds and two steals. In a win at Pittsburgh, she recorded 33 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Aysa Bussie, West Virginia, Jr., C
Bussie averaged 14.5 ppg and 3.5 bgp in a 1-1 week for the Mountaineers. At No. 2/2 Connecticut, she had 19 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals, shooting 67 percent from the floor. Against Villanova, Bussie had 10 points, five blocks, three steals and six rebounds.
