INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) For the season's third U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week and the organization's Tamika Catchings women's freshman player honor, Louisville guard Dana Evans is national player while South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston has been tabbed for the freshman citation after each helped their team win games ending the week of Sunday, Dec. 1.
The USBWA weekly honors for Division I women's players will be handed out each Tuesday this season.
As the ACC player and SEC 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.
Evans, a 5-6 junior guard from Gary, Ind., led the Cardinals to three wins over three-previously unbeaten teams, including then-No. 1 Oregon, averaging 21.3 points a game, shooting 47 percent from the floor, 11-for-21 for a .524 percentage on 3-point attempts, 4.3 assists, and 17-for-18 from the line for a .944 percentage to be named MVP of the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She had a career-high 28 points, including a 6-for-9 mark on 3-pointers in the win over Oklahoma State and in the 72-62 win over Oregon, she scored 17 points, dealt six assists and connected on a key 3-poointer late in the game to seal the upset.
Boston, a 6-5 forward from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in the Paradise Jam in her hometown, averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over three games, one of which was a 15-point upset of then-No. 2 Baylor, which was previously unbeaten, as the Gamecocks won the Reef Division title. She had 10 points in just 14 minutes against then-No. 17 Indiana. In winning her third weekly SEC frosh award, Boston scored 20 points against the Lady Bears and had a career-high 13 rebounds, including 10 points and six rebounds in the deciding fourth quarter of the triumph over Baylor.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for both awards, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA.
The winners of the 2020 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year and Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWAs annual awards event in New Orleans, site of the 2020 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 Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.
2019-20 USBWA Women's Players of the Week
Week ending Nov. 17: Aari McDonald, Arizona (National); Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (Freshman)
· Week ending Nov. 24: Stella Johnson, Rider (National); Aislynn Hayes, Middle Tennessee (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 1: Dana Evans, Louisville (National); Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 8: Megan Walker, UConn (National); Kayla Padilla, Penn (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 15: Destiny Pitts, Minnesota (National); Ayoka Lee, Kansas State (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 22: Charli Collier, Texas (National); Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (Freshman)
· Week ending Dec. 29: Kaila Charles, Maryland (National); Aislynn Hayes, Middle Tennessee (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 5: Natasha Mack, Oklahoma State (National); Taylor Jones, Oregon State (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 12: Ja'Tavia Tapley, Arizona State (National); Shemera Williams, Virginia (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 19: Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon (National); Amari Robinson, Clemson (Freshman)
· Week ending Jan. 26: Leaonna Odom, Duke (National); Ayoka Lee, Kansas State (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 2: Keishana Washington, Drexel (National); Aislynn Hayes, Middle Tennessee (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 9: Erica Ogwumike, Rice (National); Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 16: CJ Williams, Coastal Carolina (National); Abbey Hsu, Columbia (Freshman)
· Week ending Feb. 23: Bella Alarie, Princeton (National); Anna Makurat, UConn (Freshman)
· Week ending March 1: Rennia Davis, Tennessee (National); Sam Brunelle, Notre Dame (Freshman)