St. John's Handford (DI), LC's Del Rosario (DII/III) Earn Last Weeklys of 2015-16
MBWA Players of the Week (2-22 to 2-28) 2015-16 / Week 11
FFI: Chuck Stogel, MBWA - 914-428-6111, chstogel@aol.com
Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association
www.MetBasketballWriters.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Handford, Del Rosario Selected WBB Players of the Week
NEW YORK (March 1, 2016) ---
Aliyyah Handford of St. John’s and
Amely Del Rosario of Lehman, each for the second time this season, 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 Feb. 22-28, are unique in that they encompass players from 74 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III. This was the final set of MBWA weekly awards for the 2015-16 season.
A 5-9 senior guard from Newark, NJ, Handford --- who also was named Big East Conference player of the week --- became the Red Storm’s all-time leading scorer during a 1-1 week at home in which St. John’s defeated Providence 69-54 and then lost to Creighton 64-57. She averaged 23.0 points on 52.6% shooting from the floor, along with 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals.
Handford, who previously was named MBWA Player of the Week on Dec. 8, posted 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win over Providence. She produced a game-high 19 points along with seven rebounds and four steals against Creighton.
Handford now has 1,992 points for her career, just eight points shy of becoming the first player in St. John’s women’s basketball history to reach the 2,000-point mark. The previous Red Storm career leader was Ling-Ling Hou (1977-80) with 1,950 points.
A 5-5 junior guard from the Bronx, NY, Del Rosario --- who has been named the CUNY Athletic Conference 2015-16 player of the year --- averaged 29.5 points and was named the CUNYAC championships Most Valuable Player in leading the Lightning (20-7) to a pair of tournament victories and their first berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs since 2007.
Del Rosario, who previously was named MBWA Player of the Week on Feb. 16, posted a double-double with 29 points and 10 rebounds, and added eight assists and four steals, in an 84-79 CUNYAC semifinal victory over CCNY.
The No. 3 scorer in the nation with a 23.5 ppg average, she netted 30 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals as the Lightning captured the championship trophy by defeating Brooklyn 73-67 in overtime.
Lehman, which has won 11 of its last 12 games, will meet New York University at Brunswick, ME, in the first round of the NCAA tournament this Friday.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Hannah Kimmel, Sacred Heart; Kelsey Minato, Army; Jasmine Nwajei, Wagner.
Players receiving MBWA Women’s Divisions II-III Honorable Mention for the week: Deasia Goodson, Mercy; Kaitlyn Read, NYU; MacKenzie 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 . . . Jan. 12, Danaejah Grant, St. John's, Div. I; Deasia Goodson, Mercy, Divs. II-III . . . Jan. 19, Tori Jarosz, Marist and Tabatha Richardson-Smith, Seton Hall, Div. I; MacKenzie Rowland, Queens, Divs. II-III . . . Jan. 26, Tabatha Richardson-Smith, Div. I; Crystal Barnes, SUNY Old Westbury, Divs. II-III . . . Feb. 2, Tori Jarosz, Marist, Div. I; Kaitlyn Read, NYU, Divs. II-III . . . Feb. 9, Joy Adams, Iona, Div. I; Shalette Brown, FDU-Florham, Divs. II-III. . . . Feb. 16, Kelsey Minato, Army, Div. I; Amely Del Rosario, Lehman, Divs. II-III . . . Feb. 23, Danaejah Grant, St. John's, Div. I; Madison Rowland, Queens, Divs. II-III.