Averaging 33.0 points on 58.1 percent shooting in two victories, UC Riverside junior Brittany Crain (Moreno Valley, Calif./John W. North HS) captured Big West Women’s Basketball Player of the Week accolades for the second week in a row.
Crain claimed MVP honors of the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament after leading the Highlanders to wins over Stephen F. Austin and the host Lobos in extending UCR’s best ever Division I start to a season to 5-0.
She manhandled Stephen F. Austin to the tune of 35 points – two off of her career-high – and made 13-of-21 floor attempts in the 90-62 rout in Friday’s tourney opener. She made all seven of her free throw attempts and added 12 rebounds to secure her second double-double of the season. Crain further filled the stat line with five assists and three steals.
The 70-62 victory over New Mexico featured 31 points from Crain, for her third 30-point game this season and sixth of her career. She knocked down 12-of-22 on field goals, hit a pair of threes for the second straight game, and chipped in six rebounds, four steals and a block.
Crain leads the nation in scoring at 29.0 points per game, and also ranks second in the Big West in rebounds per game (9.0), third in steals and seventh in field goal percentage. UC Riverside is one of 36 Division I teams that are still undefeated.
Others nominated: Kristen Ale (Cal Poly); Chante Miles (Cal State Fullerton); Camille Mahlknecht (CSUN); Anna Kim (Long Beach State); Sydnee Fipps (UC Davis); Shawna-Lei Kuehu (Hawai‘i)