We are now firmly entrenched into December, and there are several worthy candidates of being called the Mid-Major Madness Women’s Player of the Week for the first seven days of the month.
The five nominees are the following: Vernell Atamah (Northwestern State), Rhema Collins (FIU), Kaety L’Amoreaux (Fairfield), Megan Nestor (North Texas) and Joi Williams (Radford).
Vernell Atamah, Northwestern State
Atamah had a monster game to lead the Demons to a 69-52 win at reigning regular season champ Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday. The sophomore forward posted her second consecutive double-double with 22 points and 16 rebounds. She eclipsed the 10-point and 10-rebound marks in the first quarter alone. The Mesquite, Texas, native has reached the 20-point mark six times in eight games this season. She leads the SLC in scoring.
Collins poured in a career-high 40 points in the Panthers’ 103-92 win over Georgia State. That 40-burger is the most points by any player in CUSA this season. The junior guard shot on 16-of-21 from the field and pulled down 12 rebounds. That’s her fourth double-double this season. The Bahamas native also compiled four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Kaety L’Amoreaux, Fairfield
L’Amoreaux averaged 27.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 4.5 steals for the week as the Stags went 1-1. She shot 63% from the floor and 53% from 3-point land. The junior posted a career-high 31 points with five 3-pointers In the win against Richmond. She also tied a personal-best with six steals. She recorded a team-high 23 points in a loss to Howard.
Megan Nestor, North Texas
Nestor broke the American single-game rebounding record with a 34-point, 31-rebound performance in the Mean Green’s 81-52 win over Texas Southern. It’s the third 30-30 game in Division-I history since the 1981-82 season. Of her rebounding total, 15 of them were offensive. The senior forward recorded six points and seven boards in a 73-55 loss to Oklahoma St. She averaged 20 points and 19 rebounds for the week.
Williams netted a career-high 36 points in the Highlanders’ double-overtime win over Navy. She scored 27 of those points after halftime to help guide the team from a 17-point deficit in the third quarter. The Leesburg, Va., native forced a second overtime with a fadeaway, game-tying 3-pointer with three seconds left in the first. The guard shot 13-of-23 from the field and 6-of-11 from deep. Her 36 points are the most by a Radford player since 1994. She also corralled four rebounds and dished out two assists.
