Women's Basketball Weekly Honors - Dec. 22
Kelly McCarthy
CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - WEEKLY REPORT (DEC. 22)
RICHMOND, Va. (December 22, 2014) – James Madison University’s
Precious Hall and UNCW’s
Kelva Atkins were named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Basketball Players of the Week while Elon University’s
Malaya Johnson was named the CAA Rookie of the Week
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Kelva Atkins • UNCW
Senior | Guard | Stem, N.C./Granville Central H.S.
Senior guard
Kelva Atkins had a week to remember for the Seahawks, averaging 25.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while becoming the 16th player in UNCW women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. Atkins shot 52.9 percent from the floor to help UNCW to a 2-1 week. Against Charleston Southern, Atkins tied the school record with a 40-point effort, hitting 14 of 19 shots from the floor. It was the seventh 40-point game in the NCAA this season and the first 40-point game in the CAA since 2011-12. Atkins began the week by posting 17 points against Richmond and helped UNCW to a win over East Tennessee State by contributing 19 points and nine rebounds.
Precious Hall • James Madison University
Junior | Guard | Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay School
Junior guard
Precious Hall helped the Dukes to a 2-0 week by averaging 26.5 points per game. She shot 44.1 percent from the field and was perfect from the free throw line, hitting all 15 attempts. In a win over Hampton, Hall posted 30 points, five rebounds, and three steals for her second 30-point effort of the season. She began the week by tallying 23 points in a victory at Ohio. Hall has scored in double figures in 19 consecutive games, including seven-straight games with at least 20 points. It is the second Player of the Week honor for Hall after picking up the award on November 24.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Malaya Johnson • Elon University
Freshman | Center | Mount Airy, N.C., North Surry
Center
Malaya Johnson averaged 16.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games for Elon. Johnson was nearly perfect from the floor, connecting on 14 of 17 shots (.824). Johnson had the best game of her young career in the team’s 77-51 win over Campbell with 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting, six rebounds, and three assists, all season bests. Against No. 6 North Carolina, Johnson went 4-of-5 and finished with 10 points and two rebounds.
#CAAHoops – The Week that Was
College of Charleston (1-8): Head Coach
Candice M. Jackson earned her first victory as a collegiate coach on December 21 as the Cougars topped Mercer, 72-59, at TD Arena.
Bre Bolden led the way with 20 points, nine boards, and six steals.
Erin Hall added 18 points while
Jackie Luna-Castro chipped in with 10 points.
Delaware (4-6): The Blue Hens had a tough week falling to Princeton, Northern Kentucky, and Cincinnati. It is the first three-game skid for Delaware since the 2010-11 season.
Hannah Jardine had a good week for the Blue Hens, including a career-best 18-point effort against Northern Kentucky.
Jade Clark had a solid night against Cincinnati, tallying a career-high nine rebounds.
Drexel (4-5): The Dragons split games last week, falling at Quinnipiac before downing Philly rival Penn, 67-58. Against the Quakers, senior
Jackie Schluth led all scorers with 18 points, nearly doubling her previous career high. Junior
Carrie Alexander, making her first collegiate start, capitalized by setting a personal best of her own with 15 points, adding four rebounds.
Elon (5-4): The Phoenix went 1-1 on the week, downing Campbell, 77-51, before falling to No. 6 North Carolina, 85-67. Rookie
Malaya Johnson had an impressive week for Elon, averaging 16.0 points per game and going 14-for-17 from the field. She had a season-high 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the floor against Campbell and tallied 10 points against UNC.
Hofstra (7-3): The Pride had a 12-day layoff and came back in a big way, knocking off ACC foe Boston College, 75-61, in Boston, Mass. It was the first win over an ACC opponent for Hofstra under Head Coach
Krista Kilburn-Steveskey. Hofstra had four players score in double figures, including
Elo Edeferioka who had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds and
Kelly Loftus who had a game-high 22 points. The Pride has won six of their last seven, including four-straight double-digit victories heading into Christmas break.
James Madison (9-1): The Dukes extended their winning streak to five games with wins at Ohio (69-62) and against Hampton (85-53). Junior
Precious Hall averaged 26.5 points in two games, including 30 points versus Hampton. Junior point guard
Angela Mickens tallied 16 assists over the week, including nine against Hampton. Junior guard
Ashley Perez debuted for JMU against Ohio, posting nine points and eight boards. She followed that up with 14 points and seven rebounds against Hampton.
UNCW (4-5): The Seahawks went 2-1 on the week, falling to Richmond before rebounding with wins over East Tennessee State and Charleston Southern at the Seahawk Hampton Inn Christmas Invitational. Senior guard
Kelva Atkins averaged 25.3 points per game while becoming the 16th player in UNCW women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. Against Charleston Southern, Atkins tied the school record with a 40-point effort, hitting 14 of 19 shots from the floor. Sophomore forward
Ryan Flowers also had a solid week with a pair of double-digit performances, including 11 rebounds and 14 points against Charleston Southern.
Northeastern (2-5): The Huskies had just one game this week, a tough 67-65 loss at Harvard.
Tiffany Montagne scored a game-high 16 points, including four three-pointers, with five rebounds against the Crimson. She has now paced the Huskies in scoring in two straight games and three of the team’s seven contests.
Towson (3-7): The Tigers had just one game this week, falling at Wake Forest, 74-64, despite outscoring the Demon Deacons in the second half. Towson had eight three-pointers in the game, the second most for the team this season.
LaTorri Hines-Allen had a team-high 23 points and nine rebounds.
Dominique Johnson finished with 15 points, 13 of which came during the second half, while
Breonn Hughey added eight points, five assists and four steals.
William & Mary (6-4): The Tribe split games this week topping Wofford, 71-51, before being edged by Maine, 54-51, for their first home loss of the year. Freshman
Abby Rendle enjoyed the best week of her young career as she nearly averaged a double-double with 12.5 points, and 9.0 rebounds. At Wofford, Rendle recorded her first career double-double with career-highs in points (16) and rebounds (10). In the victory she added a block, and two steals.
CAA Championship Tickets: Tickets for the 2015 CAA Women's Basketball Championship, March 12-15, at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. are currently on sale at
www.caasports.com/tickets.