Rices Lauren Neaves has been named the Western Athletic Conference womens basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 5-11. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for the freshman, who has helped lead the Lady Owls to a 3-1 WAC start this season. This is the first player of the week honor for Rice since Johnetta Hayes during the 2002-03 season.
Neaves, a forward from Cooper City, Fla., hit .545 from the field as the Lady Owls went 2-1 last week to take a share of first place in the WAC. She scored five of a career-high 17 points in Rices overtime win, as the Lady Owls defeated eighth-ranked Louisiana Tech. She broke an 82-82 tie with 1:01 left in the extra period against the Lady Techsters with a free throw, then gave Rice a three-point lead on a driving lay-up with 25 seconds left.
The freshman went 7-of-10 against Louisiana Tech, 5-of-12 against Boise State and 6-of-11 against UTEP. She recorded her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Boise State on the road. She had a career-best four blocks in each game played, bringing her season total to 31, scoring double-digits in each of Rices games.
Also nominated: Amisha Carter, Louisiana Tech; Kaira White, SMU; Vaida Zagurskyte, UTEP and Jillian Robbins, Tulsa.