Junior Janae Sharpe (Rialto, Calif./Rialto HS) averaged 23.0 points in two Cal State Northridge victories, earning Big West Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors.

Sharpe’s solid week helped the Matadors clinch at least a share of the Big West regular season crown and the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament.  Prior to this season, Sharpe had never scored 20 or more points in a game.  She accomplished the feat twice last week, and now has three such performances this season.

In a 79-59 triumph against Cal State Fullerton, the 5-7 guard scored 22 points to go along with five rebounds and seven assists.  She shot 8 of 15 from the floor, including 4 of 8 on three-pointers.

Sharpe spearheaded a comeback from a 14-point, second half deficit against UC Riverside as the Matadors pulled out a 77-75 victory Saturday.  Sharpe posted a perfect 10 of 10 performance from the free throw line and tied a season high for makes while also hitting both of her three-point attempts.  She chipped in eight rebounds, two assists and a steal in 39 minutes of action.

For the week, Sharpe shot 43.8% (14 of 32) from the field, 60.0% (6 of 10) from three-point range and a perfect 12 of 12 at the charity stripe.  She also averaged 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Others nominated: Beth Balbierz (Cal Poly); Kathleen Iwuoha (Cal State Fullerton); Alyson Doherty (UC Davis); Camille Buckley (UC Irvine); Melissa Zornig (UC Santa Barbara); Shawna-Lei Kuehu (Hawai‘i)