SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Appalachian State guard Sam Ramirez has been selected the Southern Conference women's basketball player of the week for all games played through January 18-24.
The senior from Fayetteville, N.C., helped lead the Mountaineers to a 3-0 record in conference play on the week with wins over Davidson, UNCG and Elon. As a result, Appalachian State now sits in sole possession of first place in the SoCon standings. Against the Wildcats, Ramirez scored a game-high 24 points, including 6-for-8 from behind the arc, tying a career high with six three-pointers in a game. The Mountaineer guard also dished out six assists and had four steals in the 83-66 win. In the next contest against UNCG, Ramirez once again hit the 20-point plateau while recording six assists, two steals and two rebounds. Ramirez closed out the week with a team-high 17 points in the Mountaineer 67-54 win over the Phoenix to move Appalachian State one game ahead of Elon in the conference standings. She also grabbed a season-high seven rebounds and tallied three assists and two steals against Elon. Ramirez has scored 20 plus points ten times this season and has reached double-figures in 16 of 19 games this year.
This marks the third time this season Ramirez has earned Player of the Week honors, as she took the award on Nov. 17 and Jan. 11. It is also the third straight week that a Mountaineer has been selected, with teammate Ashlen Dewart claiming the honor for Jan. 18 and Ramirez the previous week.
Ramirez currently ranks second in the conference in steals (2.6), assists-to-turnovers (2.1) and minutes players (34.3), and she sits at third in conference scoring (17.3).
The Mountaineers will put their 15-game home winning streak on the line against the Furman Paladins on Friday at 7 p.m.
Other top performers in the week of play were College of Charleston's Janae Smith, Davidson's Sophia Aleksandravicius, Elon's Ali Ford, Georgia Southern's Meredyth Frye, UNCG's Monique Floyd and Samford's Emily London.
2010-11 Women's Basketball Player of the Week
Nov. 17 Sam Ramirez, Appalachian State
Nov. 23 Ashlen Dewart, Appalachian State
Nov. 30 Whitney Hood, Chattanooga
Dec. 7 Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson
Dec. 14 Emily London, Samford
Dec. 21 Monique Floyd, UNCG
Jan. 4 Whitney Hood, Chattanooga
Jan. 11 Sam Ramirez, Appalachian State
Jan. 18 Ashlen Dewart, Appalachian State
Jan. 25 Sam Ramirez, Appalachian State