Brandon Neris/Cameron AthleticsAggie Sweep Women's Basketball POW Awards
December 20, 2011LAWTON, Okla.( Dec. 20, 2011) – Cameron’s women’s basketball team made a clean sweep of the conference awards this week, as senior Sabelle Diata was named Defensive Player of the Week, while senior Nicole Pendarvis was named Offensive Player of the Week.
“First of all, any individual award is reflective on the team,” said Head Coach Tom Webb. “It’s a credit to our team to take care of business and keep this thing going. I’m sure Sabelle and Nicole would also thank their teammates first.”
“We are just thankful for both those two kids and how hard they are playing right now.”
For Diata, the award is her second consecutive Defensive POW. She has remained a constant for the Black and Gold in the post, helping the Aggies to go 2-0 last week in conference play. While her string of double-doubles was stopped against Texas A&M-Kingsville, she was still able to play lights out defensively as Cameron limited opponents to 25.8 percent shooting and 46.0 points per game last week. Against the Javelinas, Diata held their posts to a combined nine points on 4-12 shooting, while forcing 6 fouls. She had 28 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks and a steal as CU held both Incarnate Word and TAMUK to a season-low in points.
As a team, Cameron currently boasts the number one scoring defense in the conference, limiting opponents to 51.3 points per game, as well as the number on field goal defense, holding teams to 31 percent from the field.
For Pendarvis, the award is ironic. She has been the primary ball handler and distributor for the Aggies, helping them to their best start in more than 20 years at 5-1 in conference play. But this week, the New Jersey native shot 80 percent from the floor (12-15) and averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4 rebounds in wins over Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Kingsville. She played the role of closer against UIW, with 14 of her 18 points in the second half. Pendarvis finished with 17 against Kingsville. The amazing thing is Pendarvis is a pass-first player that has taken advantage of her opportunities. She is currently number two in the conference, averaging 5.3 assists per game.
As a team, four of Cameron’s five starters are averaging double-digits. The Aggies are sitting atop the conference with an average margin of victory of more than 15 points per game, five points higher than second place Midwestern State at just over 10 points per game.
The Black and Gold will now enjoy time with their families for the holidays. Play will resume at 2 p.m. on New Year’s Eve with a contest against East Central (1-7) in Ada.
