ST. LOUIS (USBWA) For the season's eighth U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week and the organization's women's freshman player honor, Notre Dame guard Arike Ogunbowale is national player while Penn center Eleah Parker for the second time this season has been tabbed for the freshman citation after each were involved in helping their teams go unbeaten in games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 21.
The USBWA weekly honors for Division I women's players will be handed out each Tuesday this season.
As the Atlantic Coast Conference player and Ivy League freshman weekly winners, both were nominated for the awards, which were chosen by Mel Greenberg, the USBWA coordinator for women's basketball from a pair of lists of Division I conference players and freshmen players of the week.
Ogunbowale, a 5-8 junior guard from Milwaukee, averaged 25 points in two games but in the first helped trigger the biggest rally in Irish program history in which a 23-point deficit against then-No. 6 Tennessee was erased. She had 13 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter and also overall had eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Parker, a 6-4 center from Charlotte, N.C., had a career high 25 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks as the Quakers beat local Philadelphia Big 5 rival Villanova for the first time since 2001. In the second half against the Wildcats she had 18 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 4-for-4 on the line. She was also Ivy Co-Player of the Week, the second straight week she garnered both honors while leading all Ivy freshmen this season with a 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Since the 1987-88 season, the USBWA has named a womens National Player of the Year. For the 2012-13 season, the national and weekly player award has been named for Hall of Famer and former UCLA All-American Ann Meyers Drysdale. At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA. The winner of the 2018 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWA·s annual awards event in Columbus, Ohio, site of the 2018 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 Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
2017-18 USBWA Women's National Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 3: Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (National); Satou Sabally, Oregon (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 10: Jaime Nared, Tennessee (National); Braxtin Miller, Oklahoma State (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 17: Kitija Laksa, South Florida (National); Raneem Elgedawy, Western Kentucky (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 24: Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (National); Kianni Smith, California (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 31: Megan Gustafson, Iowa (National); Eleah Parker, Penn (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 7: Lashann Higgs, Texas (National); Bre Cavanaugh, Fordham (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 14: Asia Durr, Lousiville (National); Hailey Brown, Michigan (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 21: Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame (National); Eleah Parker, Penn (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 28: Kaila Charles, Maryland (National); Anna Jones, Middle Tennessee (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 4: Brittany McPhee, Stanford (National); Ana Llanusa, Oklahoma (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 11: Kitija Laksa, South Florida (National); Destiny Pitts, Minnesota (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 18: Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn (National); Nicole Carda·o-Hillary, Georgia Mason (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 25: Aubree Brown, Drexel (National); Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M (Freshman)