INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) Nate West of LeTourneau University (Longview, Texas) and Shyla Osmond of Albertus Magnus College (New Haven, Conn.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the week ending February 23.
West, a 5-10 junior guard from Houston, Texas, went on a scoring spree last week, averaging 57 points and scoring an NCAA-high (all divisions) 67 (including a school-record 12 three-pointers) in a 114-98 win over Belhaven on Saturday. He added eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block in that game as LeTourneau (20-5, 13-3) concluded its regular season. West began the week by scoring 47 points, grabbing nine rebounds, recording seven assists, and adding four steals in the YellowJackets' 91-76 win over Louisiana College on Thursday. In addition to his scoring average, West also notched 8.5 rebounds, six assists, 3.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.3 percent (34-of-69) from the field, 92.6 percent (25-of-27) from the foul line and 48.8 percent (21-of-43) from three-point range. For his efforts, West received USBWA honors for the second time this season (also on January 26) and American Southwest Conference (ASC) Athlete of the Week accolades for the seventh time in 2019-20.
Osmond, a 5-5 senior guard from New Haven, went on a tear last week as Albertus Magnus (18-7, 8-3) recorded a pair of victories. She opened the week with a career-high 48 points, the second-highest total in NCAA Division III this season, in the Falcons 80-63 win at Johnson & Wales on Tuesday. Her 20 field goals (20-of-37) also tied the highest mark in Division III this season. Osmond added 10 rebounds, two assists and four steals in the contest. Then, in Saturday's 69-50 victory over Anna Maria, she totaled 18 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and a block. For the week, Osmond averaged 33 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, 3.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. She shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field, 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the foul line, and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from three-point range. For her efforts, Osmond was also named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Week for the fifth time this season.
Each Tuesday, the USBWA is selecting men's and women's Division III National Players of the Week. This is the sixth 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 Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2019-20 USBWA Division III National Players of the Week
Week ending Nov. 10: Nate Schimonitz, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Tessa Zamolyi, Misericordia University
· Week ending Nov. 17: Jake Ross, Springfield College and Leah Porath, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
· Week ending Nov. 24: Matthew Mancuso, University of Scranton and Katelyn Pickunka, Smith College
· Week ending Dec. 1: Hunter Martineau, Hilbert College and Sydney Kopp, DePauw University
· Week ending Dec. 8: Jared Wagner, York College and Amina Wiley, Mitchell College
· Week ending Dec. 15: Eric Demers, Gordon College and Alexis Jones, Augustana College
· Week ending Jan. 5: Tyler Frederick, La Roche University and Katie Garrish, Southern Virginia University
· Week ending Jan. 12: Chris LaBelle, Centenary University and Olivia Nagy, John Carroll University
· Week ending Jan. 19: Sam Jefferson, Colby College and Dejah Terrell, Albright College
· Week ending Jan. 26: Nate West, LeTourneau University and Taite Anderson, Bethel University
· Week ending Feb. 2: Brian Cameron, Wesley College and Abbey Lawrence, Case Western Reserve University
· Week ending Feb. 9: Jake Ross, Springfield College and Katie McShea, Marymount University
· Week ending Feb. 16: Isaiah Brown, SUNY Potsdam and Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Emmanuel College
· Week ending Feb. 23: Nate West, LeTourneau University and Shyla Osmond, Albertus Magnus College
· Week ending March 1: Gabriel Leifer, Yeshiva University and Kelly Williams, Randolph-Macon College