ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – Hayden Rooke-Ley of Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.) and Emily Lavin of Eastern University (St. Davids, Pa.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the week ending Dec. 7.

Rooke-Ley, a 6-1 senior guard from Eugene, Ore., averaged 29.0 points per game and added eight rebounds, five assists and just one turnover to lead the Ephs to a 2-0 week. On Saturday, he set the NCAA Division III record by hitting his 67th consecutive free throw this season, breaking the old mark of 66 set by James Jones of Delaware Valley College in 2010-11, with 9:38 left in second half against Springfield College on Saturday. In that 67-59 victory at Springfield, Rooke-Ley totaled 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Tuesday, Rooke-Ley scored a career-high 43 points, including 10-14 on three-pointers, in Williams' 86-69 victory. The Ephs, who play in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), are now 7-2 this season.

Lavin, a 6-1 sophomore forward from Port Monmouth, N.J., became just the third women's player in NCAA Division III history to go at least 14-of-14 from the field in a game. In her team's 88-49 win over Wilkes University on Wednesday, she joined Shannon Rexrode of Frostburg State University (15-15 on 12/11/99) and Jessica Salinas of Dominican College of Illinois (14-14 on 12/8/07), as the only players to accomplish that feat. Lavin's 30-point, nine-rebound outing against Wilkes was part of a two-game week in which Eastern, a member of the Freedom Conference of the Middle Atlantic Conferences, went 2-0 and improved to 7-1 on the season. Lavin, who added 11 points and seven rebounds in a 74-65 win at Delaware Valley College on Saturday, averaged 20.5 points and eight rebounds per game for the week, while converting on 85 percent of her field goal attempts (17-of-20).

Each Tuesday, the USBWA is selecting men's and women's Division III National Players of the Week. This is the first season that the USBWA will recognize national players of the week from Division III.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.

2014-15 USBWA Division III National Players of the Week
• Week ending Dec. 7: Hayden Rooke-Ley, Williams College and Emily Lavin, Eastern University
• Week ending Dec. 14: Hunter Hill, Augustana College and Jamie Cuny, North Central College
• Week ending Dec. 21: Chris Cook, Hood College and Alyson Caiazzo, Manhattanville College
• Week ending Jan. 4: Trevon Butler, Husson College and Jess Rheinheimer, Eastern Mennonite University
• Week ending Jan. 11: Lorenzo Williams, Brooklyn College and Hannah Considine, Wheaton College
• Week ending Jan. 18: Aaron Walton-Moss, Cabrini College and Hayley Kanner, Tufts University
• Week ending Jan. 25: Hakeem Harris, NYU and Alex Moore, Rhode Island College
• Week ending Feb. 1: Thayne Recker, Bluffton University and Kara McDuffee, St. Lawrence University
• Week ending Feb. 8: DeShawn Hamlet, Southern Vermont College and Meghan Nowak, Eastern University
• Week ending Feb. 15: Lucas Hausman, Bowdoin College and Sydney Moss, Thomas More College
• Week ending Feb. 22: Jordan Rezendes, UMass Dartmouth and Megan Robertson, Amherst College
• Week ending March 1: Gerry Wixted, Dickinson College and Kristen Schultz, Wisconsin Lutheran