DENVER Rices Lauren Neaves has been named the Western Athletic Conference Womens Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 25. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor for the sophomore this season, she earned the honor once last season.
Neaves, a sophomore from Cooper City, Fla., averaged 15.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg in road wins over Fresno State and Nevada. She shot .545 from the field, helping the Lady Owls record their first road wins of the season. She had a double-double at Fresno State, her fifth of the season. The center also added a season-high 18 points, grabbing a season-best 13 rebounds behind 7-of-11 shooting against the Bulldogs. She swatted three shots and grabbed a steal against Fresno State. Neaves went 5-of-11 at Nevada, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to score 13 points.
She was one of four Lady Owls to score double-digit points at Nevada and has racked up double-digit points in 10 of Rices 18 games this season. She grabbed eight boards against the Wolf Pack, dished out an assist and recorded a block. Neaves now needs 19 blocks to break Rices all-time blocks record of 142 (has 124 for her career).
Other nominees included: Amy Sanders, Hawaii; Tasha Crain, Louisiana Tech; Jessica Kellogg, San Jose State; Katy Cobb, SMU and Megan Moody, Tulsa.