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, UNCW guard Shrita Parker is national player while Kansas State guard Christianna Carr has been tabbed for the freshman citation after each was involved in helping their teams go unbeaten in games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 20.
The USBWA weekly honors for Division I women's players will be handed out each Tuesday this season.
As the Colonial Athletic Association player and Big 12 co-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.
Parker, a 5-7 redshirt senior guard from Virginia Beach, Va., hit game-winners against the CAA's two frontrunners and and averaged 18.5 points, shooting 13-for-25 from the field, including 5-of-9 three-pointers in the games played at home in Wilmington, N.C. Her three-ball with 1.9 seconds left capped a 20-point performance for a 66-63 win that ending a 17-game losing streak to James Madison while she hit the go-ahead basket with 1:19 left and the clincher with 32 seconds left for a comeback 77-73 win over Towson, scoring 12 of her 17 points in the second half.
Carr, a 6-1 guard from Manhattan, Kan., averaged 13.5 points, shooting 52.9 percent from the field, including 6-of-12 three-pointers. In the upset of then-No. 11 Texas she had 19 points, shoot 7-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-7 threes. In the comeback win in the fourth quarter over Texas Tech she connected on two triples and hit a pair of foul shots to clinch the win over the Red Raiders.
Since the 1987-88 season, the USBWA has named a women's 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 2019 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWAs annual awards event in Tampa, site of the 2019 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.
2018-19 USBWA Women's Players of the Week
Week ending Dec. 2: Christyn Williams, UConn (National); Dorka Juh·sz, Ohio State (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 9: Jenna Allen, Michigan State (National); Taylor Sutton, Middle Tennessee (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 16: Alanna Smith, Stanford (National); Chrislyn Carr, Texas Tech (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 23: Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (National); Rhyne Howard, Kentucky (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 30: Dionna White, Georgetown (National); Nia Clouden, Michigan State (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 6: Phoebe Sterba, Penn (National); Sienna Durr, Columbia (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 13: Tiana Mangakahia, Syracuse (National); Shakira Austin, Maryland (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 20: Shrita Parker, UNCW (National); Christianna Carr, Kansas State (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 27: Paris Kea, North Carolina (National); Elissa Cunana, N.C. State (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 3: Bella Alarie, Princeton (National); Ciaja Harbison, Saint Louis (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 10: Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (National); Ajah Wayne, Old Dominion (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 17: Megan Gustafson, Iowa (National); Madisen Smith, West Virginia (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 24: Kay Kay Wright, UCF (National); Jada McMillian, Charlotte (Freshman)
· Week ending March 3: Kristine Anigwe, California (National); Christianna Carr, Kansas State (Freshman)