Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Grant (St John's/DI), Goodson (Mercy/DII-III) Win Women's Players of the Week
 
NEW YORK (Jan. 12, 2016) --- Danaejah Grant of St. John’s and Deasia Goodson of Mercy 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. 4-10, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
 
A 5-9 senior guard from Piscataway, NJ, Grant is the second player this season from St. John’s to be selected MBWA Player of the Week, following Aliyyah Handford on Dec. 8.
 
In a four-day stretch that saw St. John’s (13-3) pick up home wins against Marquette and No. 25 Seton Hall, Grant averaged 28 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. The Big East’s leading scorer this season at 19.8 ppg, Grant converted 62.5% of her tries from both the floor and from downtown.
 
In a 71-69 victory over Seton Hall, Grant posted her third double-double of the season, setting season-highs with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Earlier in the week, she registered 27 points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks as the Red Storm outlasted Marquette 81-77 in overtime.
 
The Red Storm has now won multiple games against ranked opponents in the same season for the first time since 2011-12, when SJU beat six teams in the top 25 en route to the program’s first-ever appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
 
A 6-1 senior forward from Freeport, NY, Goodson racked up a trio of double-doubles in a 2-1 week for the Mavericks (4-9). An accurate shooter and a major force on the boards with 10 double-doubles this season, she averaged 13.3 points and 13.3 rebounds while shooting 41.3% from the field.
 
Goodson opened the week with 10 points and 14 rebounds on 55.6% shooting in a 66-51 win over Nyack, then followed with 16 points and 10 boards, plus five blocks, in a 74-48 loss at Roberts Wesleyan. In her final game of the week, Goodson amassed 14 points and 16 rebounds as the Mavs won their first East Coast Conference game this season by overcoming a 16-point deficit for a 70-69 road victory over Daemen.
 
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Joy Adams, Iona; Kelsey Minato, Army; Davion Wingate, Stony Brook.
 
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Kirsten Dodge, Pace; Jacqueline Kennedy, Baruch; Dina Ragab, NYIT; Kaitlyn Read, NYU; Madison Rowland, Queens.

Previous MBWA 2015-16 Women's Players of the Week: Dec. 8, Aliyyah Handford, St. John's, Div. I; Tytravia Riley, Bard, Divs. II-III . . . Dec. 15, Kelsey Minato, Army, Div. I; Jacqueline Kennedy, Baruch, Divs. II-III... Dec. 22, Erika Livermore, FDU, Div. I; Bri Pabon, Manhattanville, Divs. II-III.