Jan. 7, 2013

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Butler's Daress McClung and Fordham's Samantha Clark have been named the Atlantic 10 Conference Women's Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday. Both student-athletes were recognized for games played during the week of Dec. 31 - Jan. 6.

McClung had a stellar week, leading Butler to a pair of road victories at Cleveland State (56-54) and Illinois-Chicago (84-61) with her double-double average of 26.5 points and 15.0 rebounds. The local Indianapolis product began the seven-day stretch with 22 points and 18 rebounds at CSU, including a perfect performance (4-4) at the line with three blocks, two assists and a steal. McClung followed with a career-high 31 points on 77 percent (13-17) shooting from the field, while corralling 12 rebounds at UIC. She also added four steals, three blocks and two assists. The junior forward finished the week shooting 58 percent (22-38) from the floor and 89 percent (8-9) at the charity stripe. The award marks the second for McClung this season.

Clark put up two solid efforts for the Rams in their unbeaten week.  She was one of four Fordham players to finish in double figures on Friday, netting 14 points and pulling down six boards in Fordham's dominant performance at American (71-50).  On Sunday against Holy Cross (67-60), the Neptune, N.J., native finished with eight points and five boards as the Rams finished non-conference play with their highest win total since 1983-84. Clark has earned the award twice this season, having also been named the Conference's top rookie on Dec. 17.

A-10 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HONOR ROLL
- Charlotte's Amanda Dowe was the key offensive and defensive catalyst in the 49ers' two victories last week to conclude non-conference play; she posted a double-double in each game, finishing with averages of 15.0 points and 13.0 rebounds.

- Fordham's Marah Strickland continued her recent hot streak in Fordham's victories over American and Holy Cross last week, averaging 17.0 points and 2.5 rebounds over the two contests.

- George Washington's Shi-Heria Shipp scored a career-high 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the Colonials' lone game of the week at North Carolina A&T, adding three assists, three rebounds and two steals.

- La Salle's Shanel Harrison scored a game-high 17 points - all in the second half - on 5-for-8 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 free throw effort in the Explorers' 54-50 loss at Rutgers on Wednesday.

- Massachusetts redshirt-junior forward Kiara Bomben tallied back-to-back double-digit scoring performances against Harvard and Dartmouth this week to average 13.5 points per contest, including a career-high 16 vs. the Big Green.

- Rhode Island's Brianna Thomas recorded game- and career-highs in both assists (5) and steals (3) at Northeastern, before registering a career-high 15 points against Harvard.

- Richmond's Becca Wann jump-started the Spiders off the bench, scoring 17 points and grabbing a career-high eight steals en route to Richmond erasing an 18-point deficit to grab a 65-59 win over Navy.

- Chatilla van Grinsven of Saint Joseph's scored a career-hgh 27 points to go with 15 rebounds at Penn; she averaged 15.5 points and 9.8 rebounds on the week.

- Jacy Bradley of Saint Louis led the Billikens in scoring and assists in the win over Winthrop, while adding a career-high eight assists.

- Sophomore guard Tyonna Williams averaged 16.0 points, 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds in Temple's two games last week.

- VCU's Robyn Parks led the Rams with 20.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last week, while shooting a team-best .545 (18-of-33) from the field.

- Against Ohio on Saturday, Jessica Pachko posted her third double-double of the season with a team-high 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to lead Xavier.