NEW YORK (Dec. 23, 2014) --- Alyson Caiazzo of Manhattanville and Aliyyah Handford of St. John’s have been named women’s Co-Players of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Assn.
The designation, for games played Dec. 15-21, is unique in that it encompasses players from 73 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 5-9 junior guard from Newark, NJ, Handford also was named Big East Player of the Week after averaging 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 46.9% from the field in two games for the Red Storm (10-1) in their own Chartwells Holiday Classic.
In the tournament opener against Auburn, Handford scored a game-high 22 points and shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line as No. 25 St. John’s scored a 56-49 victory. A little more than 24 hours later, she led all scorers with 27 points in the tournament championship game, won by Indiana State in double overtime, 73-67. Handford also recorded nine rebounds, four assists and two steals against the Sycamores, and sent the game into a first overtime period with a late field goal.
A 6-1 senior center from Brooklyn, NY, who also was named Freedom Conference Player of the Week, Caiazzo achieved just the ninth triple-double in Division III this year with 19 points (7-10 FG, 5-5 FT), a career-high 27 rebounds and 10 assists to go with five blocks and a steal in a 75-65 win over Farmingdale State during the Valiants (5-3) only game of the week. The 27 boards were one shy of the program single-game record set in 1987 and boosted Caiazzo’s NCAA-leading average to 17.3 rpg this season.
Players receiving MBWA Honorable Mention for the week: Syessence Davis, Rutgers; Tori Jarosz, Marist; Kelly Loftus, Hofstra; Jasmine Nwajei, Wagner; Madison Rowland, Queens.
Previous MBWA 2014-15 Women’s Players of the Week: Dec. 9, Betnijah Laney, Rutgers; Dec. 16, Kelsey Minato, Army.
(The MBWA will take a two-week holiday break and resume its Player of the Week program on Jan. 13).
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