NEW YORK (Feb. 20, 2024) ---
Mia Castillo of Baruch College has been named Divisions II/III Women's Player of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Association.
The designation, for games played Feb. 5-11, is unique in that it encompasses players from 48 Met area schools across Divisions II and III.
This marks Castillo's fourth MBWA weekly accolade this season (Dec. 5, Jan. 9, Jan. 16).
A 5-7 junior guard from Pleasant Valley, NY, Castillo --- who also was named the CUNY Athletic Conference player of the week --- averaged 29.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 steals and 5.0 assists in helping the Bearcats (16-10) defeat Lehman 66-49 on the road Wednesday and beat Medgar Evers 65-46 Saturday at home.
In the regular-season finale at Lehman, Castillo amassed 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five blocks.
She followed in the CUNYAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Medgar Evers with 31 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and five assists. She was instrumental in the second half after Medgar Evers cut a 15-point deficit to just one point, by leading Baruch on a game-busting 21-0 run.
Castillo is second on Baruch’s all-time scoring list with 1,584 points. She leads Division III nationally this season in points per game (27.9), total points (725), steals (5.62), total steals (146) and triple-doubles (4).
This was the last week for the MBWA 2023-24 Players of the Week program.
Over the next few weeks, the Met Writers group will be selecting its All-Met men’s and women’s teams for Divisions I, II and III. All-Met players and coaches will be honored Thursday evening, April 18, at the 91st MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards Dinner set for the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY.
Players receiving MBWA Divisions II/III Honorable Mention for the week: Nkiru Awaka, Queens; Kay Decker, Stevens; Sarah Ericson, St. Thomas Aquinas; Alicia Gumbs, York; Kendall Haymore, Sarah Lawrence; Jahnel Lewis, Caldwell; Layla Mendoza, Farmingdale State; Kamryn Hammond, John Jay; Morgan Morrison, NYU.
Previous MBWA 2023-24 Divisions II/III Women’s Players of the Week: Dec. 5,
Mia Castillo, Baruch, and
Damaris Rodriguez, New Jersey City; Dec. 12,
Jada Thompson, Ramapo; Dec. 19,
Jenna Jordan, Adelphi; Jan. 9,
Mia Castillo, Baruch; Jan. 16,
Mia Castillo, Baruch; Jan. 23,
Sarah Ericson, St. Thomas Aquinas; Jan. 30,
Sarah Ericson, St. Thomas Aquinas; Feb. 6,
Alexa Charles, Hunter; Feb. 13,
Erin Leary, St. Thomas Aquinas.
--- www.metbasketballwriters.org ---