Pac-12 announces women's basketball players of the week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The Pac-12 Conference office announced today the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Players of the Week for the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. Earning the honor for a Conference-record seventh time this season, STANFORD’s Chiney Ogwumike was voted Pac-12 Player of the Week, while OREGON’s Chrishae Rowe is named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second-straight week and a league-record sixth time.

Senior forward Chiney Ogwumike (Cypress, Texas) receives the weekly nod for the seventh time this season after leading  third-ranked Stanford to a win over USC and a sweep of then-No. 21/19 California last week, averaging 27.3 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 58.9 percent from the field. She breaks the league mark for most weekly awards she set last year with six. The week started Monday with 30 points and 12 rebounds in an 86-59 win over USC, and continued Thursday at Maples Pavilion when she scored 23 points with 12 rebounds in the Cardinal’s 70-64 victory. Three days later, she went for 29 points with eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks. With the victories, Stanford extends its winning streak to 20 games.

Guard Chrishae Rowe (Corona, Calif.) helped the Ducks to an 84-72 win at Arizona, then nearly upset No. 11 Arizona State, 97-94. She scored 24 points and led the team with three steals and three 3-pointers in the win over the Wildcats. She then had 39 points at ASU, just two points shy of her own school record, also going 13-of-14 from the free throw line against the Sun Devils. The highest-scoring freshman in the nation, Rowe ranks second in the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game. Her sixth-weekly freshman recognition breaks the Pac-12’s single-season record set last year by COLORADO’s Arielle Roberson, who earned the honor five times in the inaugural year of the award.

It is Ogwumike’s Pac-12 record 16th-career weekly honor and Stanford’s 97th all-time.

A player of the week has been selected every week since 1986-87, the first year the Conference sponsored women’s sports. A freshman of the week was first selected in 2012-13.

The Cardinal heads to the Pacific Northwest to face Washington State on Friday, Feb. 7, then to Seattle on Sunday, Feb. 9 to battle Washington on ESPNU. The Ducks are headed to Utah and Colorado for games on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Also Nominated:

PLAYER: Joy Burke, ASU; Brittany Boyd, CAL; Jillian Alleyne, ORE; Atonye Nyingifa, UCLA; Cassie Harberts, USC; Michelle Plouffe, UTAH; Kelsey Plum, WASH.

FRESHMAN: Breanna Workman, ARIZ; Karlie Samuelson, STAN.

2013-14 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Players of the Week