ST. LOUIS (USBWA) Marcus Dewberry of Saint Leo University and Brittany Hernandez of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs have been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division II National Players of the Week for games of the week ending Feb. 21.
Dewberry, a 6-0 junior guard from Lake Wales, Fla., led Saint Leo University to two Sunshine State Conference wins over Palm Beach Atlantic University and Florida Institute of Technology last week. Dewberry averaged 30.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game as the Lions improved to 17-9 overall and 9-5 in SSC play.
In a 97-84 come-from-behind win on the road at Palm Beach Atlantic, Dewberry posted his fifth 30-point game of the season with a 33-point effort. He added eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals, and three days later he recorded his first career triple-double in a 96-84 home win over Florida Tech.
Dewberry hit 10-of-17 from the field, including four-of-eight on three-pointers, scoring 27 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists with a pair of steals. On the week, Dewberry shot 55 percent (21-for-38) from the field while hitting 50 percent (9-for-18) from three-point range.
Dewberry is the third player from the Sunshine State Conference this year to be selected the USBWA Division II Men's Basketball National Player of the Week.
Hernandez, a 6-1 junior forward from Colorado Springs, Colo., was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week, averaged 30 points per game in a 2-0 week for the Mountain Lions, while netting all 19 free throw attempts and averaging 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game.
Hernandez 32 points and was 13-of-13 at the free throw line in last Fridays 84-71 victory against Black Hills State, in which she scored her 1,000th career point. Hernandez also pulled down seven rebounds and collected six steals.
Then in UCCSs 75-65 win over South Dakota Mines on Saturday, she scored 28 points, shooting 10-of-17 from the field and 6-of-6 at the free throw line, while also recording four rebounds, four blocks and three steals. In just her second season with the Mountain Lions, Hernandez is seventh in program history with 1,040 career points.
Hernandez, who leads the RMAC with 20.8 points per game, earns National Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career, having been selected in December 2014.
UCCS is 19-8 overall, including 15-6 in the RMAC.
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.