ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected UConn Huskies guard Bria Hartley as its Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Jan. 19. The USBWA's weekly honor will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 19 this season.
As the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, Hartley was nominated for the weekly award, which was chosen by Mel Greenberg, the USBWA coordinator for women’s basketball, from a list of Division I conference players of the week.
Hartley, a 5-8 senior from North Babylon, N.Y., averaged 23.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in two road wins against then-No. 7 Baylor and then-No. 23 Rutgers, while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor, including 57.1 percent from three-point range. Hartley scored 17 points in the 66-55 win at Baylor, which snapped the Lady Bears' 69-game home court winning streak. In the 94-64 win at AAC-rival Rutgers, Hartley set career highs with 30 points and six three-pointers for the top-ranked and undefeated Huskies, who are the defending NCAA champions.
She is the second UConn star honored this season by the USBWA following Breanna Stewart, a leading candidate for the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year, who was honored the week of Dec. 22.
Since the 1987-88 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. At the 2012 Women's NCAA Final Four in Denver, the organization announced going forward that the national and weekly player award has been named for Hall of Famer and former UCLA All-American Ann Meyers Drysdale. At the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA. The winner of the 2014 Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year will be announced and presented at the USBWA's annual awards presentation in Nashville, site of the 2014 NCAA Women's Final Four.
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photo credit: cloe poisson – hartford courant
