INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – For the season's third
U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's
National Player of the Week and the organization's Tamika Catchings
women's freshman player honor, Louisville guard Dana Evans is national
player while South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston has been tabbed
for the freshman citation after each helped their team win games
ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 1.
The USBWA weekly honors for Division I women's players will be
handed out each Tuesday this season.
As the ACC player and SEC freshman weekly winners, both were
nominated for the awards, which were chosen by Mel Greenberg, the
USBWA coordinator for women's basketball, primarily from a pair
of lists of Division I conference players and freshmen players of
the week.
Evans, a 5-6 junior guard from Gary, Ind., led the Cardinals
to three wins over three-previously unbeaten teams, including then-No.
1 Oregon, averaging 21.3 points a game, shooting 47 percent from
the floor, 11-for-21 for a .524 percentage on 3-point attempts,
4.3 assists, and 17-for-18 from the line for a .944 percentage to
be named MVP of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
She had a career-high 28 points, including a 6-for-9 mark on 3-pointers
in the win over Oklahoma State and in the 72-62 win over Oregon,
she scored 17 points, dealt six assists and connected on a key 3-poointer
late in the game to seal the upset.
Boston, a 6-5 forward from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in
the Paradise Jam in her hometown, averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds
over three games, one of which was a 15-point upset of then-No.
2 Baylor, which was previously unbeaten,
as the Gamecocks won the Reef Division title. She had 10 points
in just 14 minutes against then-No. 17 Indiana. In winning her third
weekly SEC frosh award, Boston scored 20 points
against the Lady Bears and had a career-high 13 rebounds, including
10 points and six rebounds in the deciding fourth quarter of the
triumph over Baylor.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name
finalists for both awards, which is voted on by the entire membership
of the USBWA.
The winners of the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of
the Year and Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year will
be announced and presented at the USBWA’s annual awards event in
New Orleans, site of the 2020 NCAA Women's Final Four.
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 a women's All-America
team since the 1996-97 season. For more information on the USBWA
and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran
at 814-574-1485.
2019-20 USBWA Women's Players of the Week
• Week ending Nov. 17: Aari McDonald, Arizona (National); Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (Freshman)
• Week ending Nov. 24: Stella Johnson, Rider (National); Aislynn Hayes, Middle Tennessee (Freshman)
• Week ending Dec. 1: Dana Evans, Louisville (National); Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (Freshman)
• Week ending Dec. 8: Megan Walker, UConn (National); Kayla Padilla, Penn (Freshman)
• Week ending Dec. 15: Destiny Pitts, Minnesota (National); Ayoka Lee, Kansas State (Freshman)
• Week ending Dec. 22: Charli Collier, Texas (National); Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (Freshman)
• Week ending Dec. 29: Kaila Charles, Maryland (National); Aislynn Hayes, Middle Tennessee (Freshman)
• Week ending Jan. 5: Natasha Mack, Oklahoma State (National); Taylor Jones, Oregon State (Freshman)
• Week ending Jan. 12: Ja'Tavia Tapley, Arizona State (National); Shemera Williams, Virginia (Freshman)
• Week ending Jan. 19: Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (National); Amari Robinson, Clemson (Freshman)
• Week ending Jan. 26: Leaonna Odom, Duke (National); Ayoka Lee, Kansas State (Freshman)
• Week ending Feb. 2: Keishana Washington, Drexel (National); Aislynn Hayes, Middle Tennessee (Freshman)
• Week ending Feb. 9: Erica Ogwumike, Rice (National); Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (Freshman)
• Week ending Feb. 16: CJ Williams, Coastal Carolina (National); Abbey Hsu, Columbia (Freshman)
• Week ending Feb. 23: Bella Alarie, Princeton (National); Anna Makurat, UConn (Freshman)
• Week ending March 1: Rennia Davis, Tennessee (National); Sam Brunelle, Notre Dame (Freshman)
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