Iona's Ward Wins Final MBWA Women's Div. I Player of the Week for the Season

NEW YORK (Feb. 24, 2026) --- Zoey Ward of Iona University has been named Division I Women’s Player of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Association.
 
The designation, for games played Feb. 16-22, is unique in that it encompasses players from 21 Met area schools in Division I.

This is Ward's first career MBWA Player of the Week honor.

A 6-1 junior forward from Gastonia, NC, Ward --- who also was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the week --- averaged a double-double of 22.5 points and 13.0 rebounds as the Gaels (18-11, 11-8) extended their winning streak to four with a pair of victories on the road, first defeating Siena 61-52 Thursday and then turning back Saint Peter’s 66-55 on Saturday.
 
Ward, the lone MAAC player to register two double-doubles last week and upping her seasonal total to eight (tied for second in the conference), shot 53.1% (17-of-32) from the field and 50% (6-of-12) from downtown in the two games.
 
She opened the week with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win at Siena.
 
Ward then followed by posting career-highs of 29 points and 15 rebounds at Saint Peter’s. Her scoring output was the most in a single game last week by a conference player.
 
This was the final week of the MBWA Players of the Week selections for the 2025-26 season. Please note, the 93rd annual All-Met Haggerty Awards dinner is scheduled for Thursday evening, April 23, 2026, at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY.
 
Players receiving MBWA Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Daniela Abies, St. John’s; Madison St. Rose, Princeton; Riley Weiss, Columbia.

Previous MBWA 2025-26 Division I Women’s Players of the Week: Dec. 9, Kaety L'Amoreaux, Fairfield; Dec. 16, Perri Page, Columbia; Dec. 23, Perri Page, Columbia; Jan. 13, Perri Page, Columbia, and Kadidia Toure, LIU; Jan. 20, Savannah Catalon, Seton Hall; Jan. 27, Kaety L'Amoreaux, Fairfield; Feb. 3, Olivia Hutcherson, Princeton; Feb. 10, Meghan Andersen, Fairfield and Riley Weiss, Columbia; Feb. 17, Riley Weiss, Columbia.