Army's Minato (DI), CNR's Ellis (DII-III) Claim Player of the Week Honors
Kelsey Minato Earns 2nd Weekly Award, Jah-Leah Ellis Becomes 1st New Rochelle Winner
FFI: Chuck Stogel, 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
NEW YORK (Jan. 27, 2015) ---
Kelsey Minato of Army, for the second time this season, and
Jah-Leah Ellis of the College of New Rochelle 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. 19-25, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 5-8 junior guard from Huntington Beach, Calif., Minato --- who also was named Patriot League player of the week --- scored 28 points and hit the game-winning basket in Army's 64-62 win at Colgate on Jan. 21, helping the Black Knights (13-5) secure their first Patriot League road victory of the season. It was her jumper with four seconds remaining in regulation that snapped a 62-62 tie. She shot 53.8% (7-of-13) from the field for the game, 41.4% (5-of-7) from beyond the arc and was 9-of-10 at the free-throw line, while also tallying five rebounds and four assists.
Minato netted 26 points on Jan. 24 to help host Army to a 68-60 victory over first-place American, who entered the contest 7-0 in the Patriot League. She shot 50.0% (9-of-18) from the field and made all seven of her free throws, while adding six rebounds and three steals.
Minato ranks ninth in NCAA scoring with 22.4 points per game. She leads the Patriot League with 2.6 3-pointers per game, stands second in free throw percentage (88.2) and ranks sixth in field goal percentage (48.6). Minato also holds the conference record for the most consecutive double-digit scoring games with a mark of 67.
A 5-11 senior forward from Harlem, NY, Ellis --- who also was named HVIAC player of the week --- averaged 25 points on 50% shooting from the floor, plus 20 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.5 blocks per game in leading CNR (9-5) to a 2-0 week.
She poured in a career-high 35 points to complement 18 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in a come-from-behind 64-62 win at Purchase, totaling 22 points and 10 boards in the second half when the Blue Angels overcame a nine-point deficit with four minutes to play.
Then, in a 68-37 conference victory over Vaughn, she nearly posted a triple-double while notching her 13th double-double of the season with 15 points, 22 rebounds and nine assists. Tied for first in the NCAA with 15.1 rebounds per game, Ellis is second in Division III in double-doubles and fourth in points per game (21.8).
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week:
Aliyyah Handford, St. John’s; Tyler Scaife, Rutgers; Daisha Simmons, Seton Hall.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week:
Kaitlyn Aster, Stevens; Kaitlyn Read, NYU; Ashley Morris, Felician; Sheridan Taylor, Baruch; Melissa Tobie, Montclair State.
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); Jan. 13, Ka-Deidre Simmons, Seton Hall, Div. I . . . Madison Rowland, Queens, Divs. II-III; Jan. 20, Ka-Deidre Simmons, Seton Hall, Div. I . . . Bria Smith, NJCU, Divs. II-III.
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