St. John's Aliyyah Handford (DI), Bard's Tytravia Riley (DII/III) Win Weekly Honors
MBWA Players of the Week (11-30 to 12-6) 2015-16 / Week 1
FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Handford, Riley Named WBB Players of the Week
NEW YORK (Dec. 8, 2015) --- Aliyyah Handford of St. John’s and Tytravia Riley of Bard 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 Nov. 30-Dec. 6, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
A 5-9 senior guard from Newark, NJ, who also was named Big East Conference player of the week, Handford led the Red Storm (6-1) to a 67-53 home win over Sacred Heart and an 86-71 victory at Kansas. Overall, she averaged 28.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks.
Handford scored 24 points, along with five boards and four assists, in a come-from-behind win against Sacred Heart. With St. John’s trailing by four near the end of the third quarter, she scored six points in a row to spark a game-ending 23-6 run for the Red Storm.
Three days later at Kansas, Handford registered a career-high 33 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.
A 5-10 senior forward from Miami, FL, Riley averaged 21 rebounds and 16.5 points over the course of a 1-1 week for the Raptors (3-4). The top scorer (20.1 ppg) and rebounder (17.7 ppg) in the Liberty League, and the second-leading rebounder in the nation, she posted 20 points and 22 rebounds, along with three steals, in a 50-43 home victory over CCNY.
Riley had 20 rebounds and 13 points in a 58-49 loss at Utica. She scored 11 of her points after the break as Bard rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to earn a tie at the end of three quarters before eventually falling at the end.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Joy Adams, Iona; Tori Jarosz, Marist; Kelsey Minato, Army; Jasmine Nwajei, Wagner.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Tyra Harrison, Farmingdale; Raven Makins, Nyack; Kaitlyn Read, NYU; Courtney Stephens, Drew.