Senior of the week: Chloe Lamb willed her team to a victory over Wichita State on Thursday. The University of South Dakota senior finished with 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting and 11 rebounds in the Coyotes 62-54 victory over the Shockers. Lamb played a team-high 39 minutes and also added four steals and two assists. This season, Lamb is averaging 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Coyotes are 2-2 but have won back-to-back games against Lipscomb and Wichita State.
Junior of the week: Kansas City’s Naomie Alnatas is the Reaching the Summit Podcast Junior of the week. The native of Cayenne, French Guiana averaged 19ppg in two Roos victories last week. Alnatas shot a very solid 9-12 from 3 point line across the two wins and was very active on the defensive end contributing 9 steals.
Sophomore of the week: Meghan Boyd, Denver Boyd led the Pioneers to an upset over Colorado this past week, besting the Buffaloes 85-84. Meghan scored 29 points in the effort including 13-16 from the line. She is off to a 20 point and 6 rebound average to begin the season.
Freshmen of the week: Tierney Coleman, Oral Roberts. Coleman has had a strong start to her Golden Eagle career, becoming a reliable playmaker for Oral Roberts. In Monday night’s game against Rogers State, she played 31 minutes, scoring 18 points. Coleman also added seven against Tarleton State and 16 against Kansas last Sunday.
Coleman is ORU’s second-leading scorer, averaging just over 10.5 points per game. She also leads the team in steals and assists.
Bench player of the week: Sophomore Maggie Manson has been a bright spot for North Dakota coming off the bench so far this season. She had her best game of her young career on Monday against Montana when she came off the bench and dropped 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting in 22 minutes. Manson added four 3-pointers in the game as the Fighting Hawks lost 86-72. It didn’t take long for interim head coach Mallory Bernhard to give Manson a starting role as she started just her second game of her career on Sunday against Wisconsin.
Defense of the week: South Dakota took their squad to Wichita on December 10 for a road game vs the Shockers and forced 23 turnovers in their game to earn them the Reaching the Summit Podcast Defense of the Week. The Coyotes had 14 steals and 4 blocks in the contest. Their discipline on defense is head and shoulders above the rest of the league.