Cal State Northridge's LaJoyce King and UC Riverside's Roney Friend were explosive in the opening week of conference play, leading their respective teams to Big West wins and earning them Big West Women's Basketball Co-Players of the Week, for the week ending Dec. 31. This is the first honor of the season for both student-athletes, while Cal State Northridge grabs its second consecutive weekly honor, third overall. UC Riverside also received a nod earlier in the season.

In the 72-50 win over Pacific, King recorded a double-double in the first 16 minutes and finished Saturday's contest with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Her 16 boards marked her fifth double-figure board game in her last six matchups, as she posted her fourth double-double of the season and 12th of her career.

The 5-9 forward went 6-for-9 from the field and picked up here 10th rebound to go along with 13 points at the 4:09 mark of the first half. The Compton, Calif., native is nearly averaging a double-double on the season with 12.8 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per game. Her rebound and field goal percentage averages place her second in the Big West.

Leading UCR to a 2-0 conference start for the first time since the 2001-02 season, Friend registered double figures in both of the Highlanders’ wins. Against UC Santa Barbara, the 6-1 forward barely missed the program’s first-ever triple-double, finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. She followed that up with her fourth consecutive double-digit performance with 12 points, six rebound and three assists in the 75-65 win over Cal Poly.

For the week, the Los Angeles, Calif., native fired 53.8 percent from the field and 86.7 percent from the charity line. Friend has tallied double figures in eight games overall, including five of the last six contests.

Both team return to the court Thursday night when Cal State Northridge hosts Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside visitsPacific.