The following are our conference players of the week honors for the week ending February 12, 2012.
Atlantic 10
After a 24-point, nine-rebound outing in a loss at UMass, Andrew Nicholson posted St. Bonaventure’s first 20-20 game since Bob Lanier in 1967 with 21 points and a career-high 23 rebounds in a win over Duquesne. His performance marked the Atlantic 10′s best effort on the glass since Dayton’s Ryan Perryman in 1998, ranks as the second-best rebounding total in the NCAA this season, and ties for the third-best rebounding game in Bonnies’ history.
Megan Van Tatenhove, hit the game-winning shot with 23 seconds remaining Saturday as St. Bonaventure erased a 15-point deficit and defeated Dayton on the road, 56-55. The senior forward finished the outing with a game-high 17 points, while also grabbing eight rebounds to help the Bonnies remain in sole possession of first place in the A-10 (11-0) and maintain their perfect road record (12-0).
Big West
Casper Ware exploded for a career-high 38 points to lead the 49ers to a 74-66 win at Pacific last Thursday. Later in the week the senior dished out two assists to become Long Beach State’s career leader with 509, in an 89-69 win at UC Davis.
Pacific freshman Kendall Kenyon led the Tigers last week in their first contest against UC Riverside posting a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards in just 16 minutes of play. Her 18 points tied her career-high, but just two days later she set a new career best with 22 points against UC Irvine in just 24 minutes of action.
CAA
Bradford Burgess averaged 23.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists per game in VCU’s 2-0 week. The senior guard posted back-to-back 20-point efforts for the first time this year with a team-best 22 points in a 66-43 win over Towson and a season-high 24 points in a 68-64 triumph at ODU.
Tarik Hislop led James Madison to back-to-back road victories at Drexel and VCU while averaging 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. Against Drexel, Hislop posted a game-high 22 points two of which came via a 17-foot jumper which forced overtime. She also hit the game-winning shot at VCU Sunday.
Conference USA
Isaiah Sykes of Central Florida averaged 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting an incredible 72.0 percent from the floor against Marshall and Southern Miss. Against league leader Southern Miss, Sykes recorded a career-high 27 points while adding 10 rebounds and three steals.
Jamierra Faulkner led Southern Miss to a 74-67 road victory over SMU in the team’s only game of the week, while scoring a career-high 28 points. The nation’s third best distributor of the ball also dished out six assists and came up with six steals.
Horizon
Roosevelt Jones controlled the paint last week as Butler went 2-0 on its road swing against Youngstown State and Cleveland State. The freshman averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, shooting 10-for-19 from the field for the week.
Julie Wojta had a career-high 30 points and 20 rebounds, while also collecting eight steals and four blocked shots in Green Bay’s 64-59 win over Wright State. The 20 rebounds and eight steals were Kress Center Records, while the four blocks tied the facility record.
Missouri Valley
Wichita State senior, Joe Ragland averaged 21.5 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 76.2 percent (16-21) in WSU’s two wins last week against UNI and No. 15 Creighton. Against Creighton, he scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, while adding six assists and a block.
Shannon Thomas led Indiana State to a pair of home victories last weekend, posting double-doubles in each game. The senior went for 24 points and 11 rebounds on Friday night against Bradley and followed that performance with 13 points, a season-high 18 rebounds and a career-high five assists on Sunday against UNI.
Mountain West
Mike Moser led No. 16 UNLV to a 65-63 win over No. 14 San Diego State on Saturday, moving the Runnin’ Rebels into a three-way for first place in the Mountain West standings. The sophomore forward scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed a game-best nine rebounds as the Rebels snapped a six-game losing streak to the Aztecs. He also recorded career-highs of six steals and four blocks while adding two assists in 36 minutes of action.
Colorado State senior Kim Mestdagh had 21 points, a career-best eight assists, four rebounds and two steals Saturday to lead the Rams to a 61-59 victory over TCU. The win was Colorado State University’s first over TCU in 13 years and kept the Rams in sole possession of second place in the league.
Southern
UNCG’s Trevis Simpson averaged 26.5 points per game last week as UNCG picked up road wins at Samford (71-69) and Chattanooga (77-76) to move into first place in the North Division. The sophomore poured in a game-high 25 points and season-high 7 rebounds at Samford as the Spartans came away with a two-point victory.
Western Carolina’s Kalia Shea Menendez led the Catamounts to a 2-0 week, defeating Wofford and Furman on the road. In Monday night’s 51-48 overtime victory at Furman, the guard led all players with 23 points, including 7 points in overtime which accounted for all of her team’s points in the period.
West Coast
Gonzaga freshman Kevin Pangos averaged 24 points and 5.5 assists while not committing a turnover as the Bulldogs beat previously-unbeaten Saint Mary’s and Loyola Marymount last week. In the victory over the Gaels, Pangos scored 27 points, including 5-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc.
Kim Parker’s 16 points was key in BYU’s 70-40 win over No. 18 Gonzaga last Thursday. Parker also added five rebounds, four assists and one steal in BYU’s only game last week.
WAC
Idaho junior Kyle Barone dominated the paint while leading Idaho to a 3-0 record during the week. The Vandals’ forward averaged 15.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 2.0 assists per game, shooting 51.4 percent from the floor and 73.3 percent from the free throw line.
Shantale Bramble-Donaldson led Louisiana Tech to a pair of road wins last week at second-place Utah State (82-76) and at Idaho (61-57). In the win over the Vandals, she scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.
Michael Plesha is a Correspondent for NetScouts Basketball and can be followed on twitter @MichaelPlesha. Thanks to St. Bonaventure University and Central Florida University for the photos.













