(LATHAM, N.Y.) – The United East announced the first Player of the Week awards for the winter sports season and Wilson's women's and men's basketball teams both have representatives that were selected. For the women,
Leah Laubach (So., Marietta, Pa. / Lancaster Catholic) took defensive honors while on the men's side
Jalen Pierce (Sr., Richmond, Va. / Collegiate / Millersville) received accolades for his offensive abilities.
Laubach shined offensively, but her defensive abilities were also on notice as she pulled down 13 rebounds to go with 17 points for a double-double in Saturday's season opening win against Mary Baldwin. Ten of her caroms were on the defensive end alone which helped the Blue and White outrebound the opposition by a 54-26 margin.
In addition to that, she blocked three shots and pilfered three steals as the Phoenix went on to defeat the Fighting Squirrels 86-61.
On the men's side, few had better opening weekends than Pierce as he averaged 21.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He did so while shooting 80% (16-for-20) from the field as well. He opened with a 12 point, seven rebound performance at Gettysburg where he went 5-for-7 with four assists as the Phoenix nearly knocked off the tournament hosts. The very next night Gettysburg took No. 2 Randolph-Macon to the wire before falling by three points.
Just before that Pierce heated up the floor once again by going 11-for-13 from the field for a 30-point night. That included a perfect 4-for-4 evening on 3-pointers while he also dished out four more assists. He added 11 rebounds for a double-double, nine of which were on the defensive end.
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday as the women's team heads to Bryn Mawr while the men travel to Division I Towson for an exhibition contest.
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