ST. LOUIS (USBWA) Connor Green of Amherst College (Amherst, Mass.) and TiChina Mitchell of La Roche College (Pittsburgh, Pa.) were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Players of the Week for the week ending Dec. 13.
Green, a 6-4 senior guard/forward from Bedford, N.H., averaged 22.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game during a 3-0 road week for No. 3 (D3hoops.com) Amherst. He shot 46.7 percent (21-for-45) from the floor, 46.7 percent (14-for-30) from three-point range and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the foul line. In a 72-65 win at Brandeis (5-3) on Tuesday, Green totaled 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. At then-No. 19 Babson (6-3) on Thursday, he recorded a double-double with 39 points (12-of-22 FG; 6-of-13 3FG) and 11 rebounds in the Jeffs' 103-96 double-overtime win. Green knotted the score at 78-78 on a basket with four seconds left to send the game into overtime, hit the game-tying three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining to tie the game at 90-90 and send it into double-overtime, then added six foul shots in the second extra session to help clinch the win. Green rounded out the week on Saturday with 18 points (6-of-12 FG; 6-of-10 3FG) and seven rebounds in a 101-69 win at Lasell (6-4). Amherst, who plays in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), is now 8-0 this season.
Mitchell, a 5-8 junior forward from Woodbridge, Va., averaged 31.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game while shooting 65.8 percent (25-of-38) from the field and 92.3 percent (12-of-13) from both three-point range and the foul line as the Redhawks went 2-0. On Wednesday, she scored 22 points (8-of-15 FG; 6-of-7 FT), while totaling four rebounds, four steals and a block in an 88-61 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) victory over Mt. Aloysius (4-4, 3-1) in a battle for first place. Mitchell followed that up with a school-record 40-point performance (17-of-23 FG; 6-of-6 FT) while adding seven rebounds, four steals and two assists in a 102-50 win over DYouville (3-6, 0-3). Mitchell currently leads the AMCC and is second in NCAA Division III in scoring (23.9 ppg) for 6-2, 4-0 La Roche.
Each Tuesday, the USBWA is selecting men's and women's Division III National Players of the Week. This is the second 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.
2015-16 USBWA Division III National Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 6: Jordan Rezendes, UMass Dartmouth and Lisa Murphy, Carnegie Mellon
· Week ending Dec. 13: Connor Green, Amherst and TiChina Mitchell, La Roche
· Week ending Dec. 20: David Linane, John Carroll and Alexix Roman, Scranton
· Week ending Jan. 3: Tom Palleschi, Tufts and Jordan Holmes, Denison
· Week ending Jan. 10: Tyheim Monroe, Cabrini and Michela North, Tufts
· Week ending Jan. 17: Jamie Nikitas, Lawrence University and Katelyn Spahar, John Carroll
· Week ending Jan. 24: Lucas Johnson, Benedictine and Jillian Gilman, Daniel Webster
· Week ending Jan. 31: Jordan Rezendes, UMass Dartmouth and Kelsey Tietje, Defiance
· Week ending Feb. 7: Ty Sabin, Ripon and Holly Denfeld, Milwaukee School of Engineering
· Week ending Feb. 14: Josh Berard, University of the Ozarks and Sydney Moss, Thomas More
· Week ending Feb. 21: Luke Lattner, DePauw and Lisa Murphy, Carngie Mellon
· Week ending Feb. 28: David Meurer, Denison and Caroline Naumann, Lynchburg