GNAC Women's Basketball Report: Week 12

( FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 3 - 9 )

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Shyla Osmond, Albertus Magnus (Sr., G - New Haven, Conn.) Osmond guided the Falcons to a 2-0 record last week, filling up the stat sheet with 28.0 points, 9.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 7.5 steals per game, while shooting an even 50% (23-46 FG, 6-10 3PT, 4-5 FT) overall. In a 77-54 triumph over future GNAC member Dean on Thursday, the senior guard poured in 30 points, seven assists, four rebounds and six steals. On Saturday, she posted her ninth double-double of the season with 26 points, 11 assists and a career-high nine steals to lead Albertus to a 95-74 win over Rivier. Osmond also averaged just 3.0 turnovers in the two victories.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Kyah Nowlin, Albertus Magnus (Fr., G - Stamford, Conn.) Nowlin averaged 22.0 points, 3.0 assists and 5.5 steals per game in a perfect 2-0 week for Albertus, while shooting 42.1% (16-38 FG, 7-24 3PT, 5-7 FT). The freshman guard began her week with 14 points, three assists, two rebounds and five steals in the Falcons' 77-54 win over Dean on Thursday. She then caught fire against Rivier on Saturday, scoring 23 points in the first half, on her way to a season-high 30 in a 95-74 Falcons' victory. Nowlin also recorded three assists and a season-high six steals in 28 minutes against the Raiders.

WEEK 12 HONOR ROLL

Lexie Hamilton, Colby-Sawyer (Sr, g - Sunapee, N.H.) - Hamilton averaged 15.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists in a 1-1 week for the Chargers. The senior guard began the week with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a tough 54-51 road loss at Regis. Hamilton ended the week for the second straight week with a triple-double. She posted 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to record her second triple-double in seven days and third of her career. For the week, she shot 50% (8-16) overall, including 4-of-6 from three and 10-of-13 from the FT line. 

Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr, G - Cambridge, Mass.) - The senior lifted the Saints to a 2-0 week, which included an 89-82 win over the NESCAC's Middlebury, averaging 21.0 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting 44.4% (16-36) overall and going 10-of-14 from the FT line. The senior paced EC with 19 points and eight boards in a 68-56 GNAC victory over JWU before registering a monster 23-point, 17-rebound double-double over Middlebury on Thursday.

Riley Bennett, Norwich (Jr., G - Hopkinton, N.H.) - Bennett saved some of her best ball of the year for a late stretch drive which saw the Cadets capture a pair of important GNAC wins this week. The junior guard averaged 21.0 points while shooting 42.1 percent from the field which included a 4-of-9 (44.4%) mark from beyond the arc. She added 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. In Tuesday's game, Bennett posted a career-high 27 points, including four of the team's nine points in the extra frame as Norwich bested Anna Maria, 69-60, in OT. On Saturday, Bennett helped rouse the team to a 46-38 upset victory over Regis which had come into the game tied for top spot in the conference standings. She knocked down 15 points in the defensive battle and keyed the Cadets with six points in a one-minute span in the third quarter helping change a one-point deficit into a five-point advantage to give Norwich a lead it would not relinquish.

Pam Gonzalez, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., G - Revere, Mass.) - Gonzalez averaged 13.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week. On Tuesday, she scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including two three-pointers, plus 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season in a 54-51 win over Colby-Sawyer. She scored 12 points after halftime to help the Pride hold on for the victory. On Saturday at Norwich in a tough loss, she finished with nine points and 10 boards, the fifth time in the last six games she has reached double figures in rebounding.

Jenni-Rose DiCecco, Suffolk (Jr., G - Falmouth, Mass.) - DiCecco averaged 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals in a 2-0 week for the Rams, who topped conference-leading Saint Joseph's College of Maine, 64-49, midweek.