ANIGWE, CARR ARE USBWA WOMEN'SNATIONAL, FRESHMAN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Contact Mel Greenberg
poll416@gmail.com
(215) 815-5943

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) For the season's 14th 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 for the season, California center/forward Kristine Anigwe 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, March 3.

The USBWA weekly honors for Division I women's players will be handed out each Tuesday this season.

As the Pac-12 player and Big 12 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.

Anigwe, a 6-4 senior and past USBWA national freshman of the year from Phoenix, Ariz., averaged 26 points and 24 rebounds per game as Cal completed the road sweep of Washington and Washington State, shooting 63 percent from the field. In Sundays final against Washington State, Anigwe went off for 32 points and 30 rebounds, becoming the first women's Division I player in 16 seasons to have 30 points and 30 rebounds in the same game since UMass's Jennifer Butler, who had 30 points and 30 rebounds against Florida on Dec. 28, 2002. Her 30 rebounds topped the Cougars' entire team total as well as 11 other teams who also played the same day.

Carr, a 6-1 guard from Manhattan, Kan., helped Kansas State extend its winning streak to four games by averaging 15.5 points on a 40.0 percent effort from the field including a 33.3 percent performance from 3-point range. She also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals. Against West Virginia, Carr tallied her first career Big 12 games with 20 or more points as she notched 21 points on 6-of-13 from the field including 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Carr also led the Wildcats with seven rebounds and also dished out two assists and bagged two steals.

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.