ST. LOUIS (USBWA) For the season's 13th and final U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week and the organization's women's freshman player honor, Drexel guard Aubree Brown is national player while Texas A&M guard Chennedy Carter has been tabbed for the freshman citation after each was involved in helping their teams go unbeaten in games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 25.
The USBWA weekly honors for Division I women's players have been handed out each Tuesday this season.
As the Colonial Athletic Association player and Southeastern Conference freshman weekly winners, both were nominated for the awards, which were chosen by Mel Greenberg, the USBWA coordinator for women's basketball, primarily from a pair of lists of Division I conference players and freshmen players of the week.
Brown, a 5-11 sophomore guard from Philadelphia, averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 4.0 rebounds in two games. Her career-high 26 points helped lead Drexel to a double overtime upset of James Madison as the Dragons moved into a virtual tie for first in the CAA with the Dukes. She scored 23 points in the second half, including 10 in the two overtimes. Brown was again the high scorer with 16 points to help Drexel avoid an upset at Towson.
Carter, a 5-7 guard from Mansfield, Texas, averaged 22 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in two lopsided wins by the Aggies over Arkansas and then-No. 11 Missouri. She has scored 20 or more points in 13 of 16 SEC games this season and her 649 points to date are the most ever for a Texas A&M freshman and second overall for any player in Aggies history.
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)