ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – Trevon Butler of Husson College (Bangor, Maine) and Jess Rheinheimer of Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, Va.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the week ending Jan. 4.

Butler, a 6-3 junior forward from Waterbury, Conn., averaged 16.5 points and totaled 12 rebounds, an assist and two steals as Husson went 2-0 and won the team title at the 2014 D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas on Dec. 28-29. Butler, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, netted 17 points in just 17 minutes of action, shooting 4-5 from the field in a 79-74 win over then-No. 16 University of Scranton (D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll). He also added two rebounds, two steals, an assist, and shot 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the foul line in that contest. Butler then posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, and hit the game-winning buzzer-beating three-pointer in a 53-51 victory over previously unbeaten Hampden-Sydney College to capture the tournament crown. For the season, Butler is averaging 17.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, and 1.8 spg for the Eagles, who play in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC). The team is now 8-1 this season and ranked 23rd.

Rheinheimer, a 5-10 junior forward from Manheim, Pa., led Eastern Mennonite (8-2) to a pair of victories, scoring career-highs in both. She averaged 35.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game for the week, shooting 27-40 (67.5%) from the field and recording consecutive double-doubles. In a 74-54 win over Christopher Newport University (8-4) on Dec. 30, Rheinheimer scored a career-high 29 points on 10-16 shooting and recorded 12 rebounds. She followed that with a 41-point effort against Washington College, hitting 17-24 from the floor and 4-7 from three-point range, adding 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. The Royals, a member of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), are receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. Rheinheimer’s 41-point performance is the fifth-highest one-game total in NCAA Division III this season and she is the first ODAC player to score 40 or more in a game since Guilford College’s Kristine Ellis finished with 44 points in 2005. Rheinheimer is averaging 20.4 ppg (17th in Division III) and 8.1 rpg this season.

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