SHERROD, MARKOWSKI ARE USBWA WOMEN'S NATIONAL, FRESHMAN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Contact Malcolm Moran
malcolm@usbwa.com
(814) 574-1485

INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) For the season's sixth honorees for games ending Sunday, Jan. 9, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week goes to Colorado guard Jaylyn Sherrod, the organization's Tamika Catchings women's freshman player honor goes to Nebraska forward Alexis Markowski, and the USBWA women's team citation goes to Colorado.

Sherrod, a 5-7 junior guard from Birmingham, Ala., averaged 20.0 points and 8.0 assists in two Colorado wins, enabling the Buffs to remain the last unbeaten Division I women's team at 13-0. She also earned her first Pac-12 player of the week honor, having scored a career-high 25 points in Sunday's 71-63 win over UCLA and earlier on the weekend, had 15 points and six rebounds in Friday's conference opening 71-58 win at USC, committing just two turnovers overall in both games. She is second in the nation with a 3.56 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Markowski, a 6-3 forward from Nebraska's campus town of Lincoln, averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds with a .684 shooting average in a pair of Top 25 games, helping the Huskers to upset then-No. 8 Michigan 79-58 at home in her first career start, scoring a career-high 20 points in what became the Huskers' first top 10 victory in eight seasons since 2014. She then followed on Sunday's nationally-televised narrow home loss against then-No. 22 Iowa with 14 points and eight rebounds. Her exploits earned her third Big Ten weekly freshman honor.

With the twin wins last weekend at home in Boulder, the Buffs achieved their first ever sweep of the Los Angeles duo of USC and UCLA since joining the Pac-12 resulting in a current 13-0 record after snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Bruins. The achievements helped Colorado return to the AP Poll on Monday after a brief appearance in the rankings earlier this season. On Friday they'll host No. 2 Stanford, the defending national champs whom a year ago they beat, becoming at the time the ninth-ever unranked team to beat the No. 1-ranked opponent.

Each week awards go to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's national player, the organization's Tamika Catchings freshman player, and the USBWA's women's national team of the week. The pool of candidates is drawn from the weekly conference citations as well as at-large additions involving an expanded governing panel focusing on women's basketball, headed by vice-president Mel Greenberg.

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 became named for Hall of Famer and former UCLA All-American Ann Meyers Drysdale while this is the first season the national and weekly freshman award is being given in the name of former Tennessee all-American Tamika Catchings.

At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for both individual awards, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA.

The winners of the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year and Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWA's annual awards event on site at the 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four in Minneapolis.

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.

All-time USBWA Women's
National Weekly Honors (Since 2011-12)

2021-22 Season