GNAC Women's Basketball Report: Week 7

( FOR THE PERIOD OF DEC. 23 - JAN. 5 )

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Rah-Rah Thompson, Albertus Magnus (Sr., C - Bridgeport, Conn.) Thompson averaged an impressive 21.5 points, 15.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game in a 1-1 week for the Falcons, as the senior forward shot 68.0% (17-25) overall and was 7-of-12 from the FT line. In a 78-69 loss to Gordon, Thompson netted a team-high 20 points with 14 rebounds and two blocks. The senior capped the week with her eighth double-double of the season behind 23 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, four steals and six blocks in a 81-54 win over Salem State.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Pam Gonzalez, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., G - Revere, Mass.) Gonzalez played 32 minutes in each game during the past week as Regis returned to competition, averaging 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 5.5 steals in a 1-1 stretch. On Thursday in a 50-27 win over Becker, she overcame a 3-for-14 shooting performance by contributing with six rebounds, three assists, and seven steals. On Saturday against Brandeis, one of the top teams in the region this season, she scored a season-high 21 points (7-12 FG, 3-7 3PT, 4-5 FT) and also pulled down eight rebounds, dished out three assists, and collected four steals. For the season, Gonzalez is now fourth in the GNAC with 3.1 steals per game.

WEEK 7 HONOR ROLL

Sierra Johnson, Anna Maria (Sr, G - Brockton, Mass.) - Johnson finished the 1-2 holiday break by averaging 20.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game for the AMCATS. Against future GNAC member Dean on Saturday, she shot 66.7% (12-18 FG, 5-5 3PT, 10-11 FT) en route to 37 points in a 73-64 victory. the single-game total was just one point shy of the program record. 

Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr, G - Cambridge, Mass.) - Ramirez-Tejeda averaged 17.5 points and 15.0 rebounds during a pair of Emmanuel wins at the D3Hoops Classic in Las Vegas. The senior collected 14 points and 11 boards in just 22 minutes of action in a 76-34 win over Milwaukee School of Engineering before going off for 21 points, 19 boards and four steals in a 56-49 win over Keene State. She shot 48.4% (15- 31) overall, including 7-of-10 in the MSOE victory.

Amanda Ortiz, Lasell (Sr., G - Newton, Mass.) - Ortiz finished with a game-high 21 points along with six rebounds and a season-best eight steals in Lasell's only game, a 72-55 victory over UMaine Farmington. She made 7-of-10 shots from the field, scoring at least 20 points for the seventh time this season.

Katryna Veasey, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., F - Quincy, Mass.) - Veasey averaged a double-double as she consistently helped the Pride to a 1-1 week. Thursday, she led the Pride with 12 points and 10 rebounds as Regis defeated Becker, 50-27. Saturday, she notched her third double-double of the season with another 12-point, 10-rebound effort, this time against Brandeis, a team receiving votes in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll. Veasey has now reached double figures in scoring in nine of the 11 games she has played, including the last four games in a row. 

Meredith Forman, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., F - Bristol, Conn.) - Forman had the best two-game stretch of her young career, averaging 12.5 points per game on the week on a near perfect 10-of-11 from the field, all done off the bench. She scored a career-high 15 points (6-7 FG) to lead all scorers in a 79-52 route of Northern Vermont Johnson on January 5. USJ went 1-1 on the weekend in its first action in a month, and have already more than doubled its win total from last year.

Alyson Fillion, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sophomore, G - Bedford, N.H.) - Fillion garnered Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 54.5% (12-22) from the field and 70% (7-10) from three-point distance in a pair of tourney tilts. The sophomore guard netted 17 points with six rebounds and was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in a 65-54 victory over UMass.-Dartmouth on Thursday. 

Jenni-Rose DiCecco, Suffolk (Jr., G - Falmouth, Mass.) - The junior had 30 points (9-20 FG, 1-5 3PT, 11-14 FT) with three rebounds, five assists and three steals in an 88-79 win at Sage on Saturday.