ST. LOUIS (USBWA) Keenan Palmore of Lenoir-Rhyne University and MacKenzie Rowland of Queens College have been named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division II National Players of the Week for games of the week ending Feb. 28.
Palmore, 6-2 junior guard from Stone Mountain, Ga., led Lenoir-Rhyne to two South Atlantic Conference wins over Queens University and Mars Hill University last week. Palmore averaged 30.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game while shooting over 70 percent from the field as the Bears finished the regular season 19-8 overall and 14-8 in SAC play.
In a 94-90 overtime road win at No. 12-ranked Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.), Palmore scored 36 points with 11 rebounds, seven assists, and a steal, and he added another double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds to go with five assists in a 106-87 win over Mars Hill. Palmore leads the SAC in scoring (22.0), rebounds (9.6) and assists (6.9), and for the week he shot 72.4 percent (21-for-29) overall, including two-for-two on three-pointers
Rowland, the East Coast Conference Player of the Week, had a memorable weekend for the Knights, which clinched the No. 2 seed in the ECC Championship with two wins. She averaged 15.5 points, 17.0 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game, highlighted by an 18-point, 19-rebound and 10-assist triple-double in a 76-65 victory over Daemen on Sunday in the regular season finale.
The 6-2 redshirt senior forward from Albany, N.Y., added 13 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and four steals two nights earlier in a 72-49 win over Roberts Wesleyan. She also finished the week shooting 44.8 percent from the field.
Rowland is averaging 14.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game for Queens, which is 18-8 overall. The Knights posted a 15-5 mark in the ECC.
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.