Simmons (SHU) D-I, Rowland (Queens) D-II/III Players of the Week
Seton Hall & Queens Standouts take first honors of 2015
FFI: Chuck Stogel, 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
NEW YORK (Jan. 13, 2015) --- Ka-Deidre Simmons of Seton Hall and Madison Rowland of Queens have been named Women’s Division I and Divisions II/III Players of the Week, respectively, by the Met Basketball Writers Assn. The designations, for games played Jan. 5-11, are unique in that they encompass players from 73 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 5-8 graduate student guard from Newark, NJ, Simmons --- who also was named Big East player of the week --- averaged 20.5 points 6.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game in leading Seton Hall (15-2) to a 2-0 mark. The Pirates beat Xavier (78-54) at home at won (68-67) on the road at Providence. Simmons paced SHU in scoring in both games. She shot 42.4% (14-of-33) from the field and 92.3% (12-of-13) from the line, averaging 37.5 minutes per game.
First, she scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting with six assists and five steals against Xavier. Next, she scored a game-high 22 points --- her fifth 20-point game of the season --- to lead Seton Hall to a comeback win at Providence. Simmons shot 7-of-15 from the field and 8-of-9 at the line with seven assists and a pair of steals against the Friars. She hit the two game-winning free throws with 12 seconds remaining to lift the Pirates to their first lead of the second half and first time leading since 12:41 remained in the first half.
A 5-10 sophomore forward/guard from Cohoes, NY, Rowland --- whose weekly output included the second triple-double of her career and just the ninth triple-double nationally this season in Division II--- helped the Knights (10-2) win both of their games last week, first in defeating Concordia 92-34 and then in beating District of Columbia 77-71.
Rowland outscored the entire Concordia team in posting 35 points on 64% shooting (16-of-25) from the field to complement nine rebounds and seven steals. Then, against UDC, she registered 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. She shot 62.5% (5-of-8) from the field and was a perfect 10-10 from the foul line to go with a game-high four steals and two blocks.
Last season, as a freshman, Rowland was just one of 13 women’s Division II players to record a triple-double and she now has added a “T-D” as a sophomore.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Madeline Blais, Marist; Samantha Clark, Fordham; Ashunae Durant, Hofstra; Aliyyah Handford, St. John’s; Betnijah Laney, Rutgers.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Divisions II/III Honorable Mention for the week: Kelly Fraser, Mount St. Vincent; Ashley Raaf, Manhattanville; Kaitlyn Read, NYU; Alicea Ulmer, Baruch.
Previous MBWA 2014-15 Women’s Players of the Week: Dec. 9, Betnijah Laney, Rutgers; Dec. 16, Kelsey Minato, Army; Dec. 23, Aliyyah Handford, St. John’s, and Alyson Caiazzo, Manhattanville (co-winners).
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