Laney Named B1G Player of the Week
Dec 08 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (December 8, 2014) - After a week in which she set the RAC rebounding record and averaged 18.0 points and 17.5 rebounds against a pair of top 25 opponents, senior forward Betnijah Laney (Clayton, Del.) was named the Big Ten Women's Basketball Player of the Week.
Against #6 UNC in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Laney poured in 24 points and hauled in 24 rebounds as she collected her 1,000th career point and cracked the top 15 on RU's all-time rebounding list. Her 24 rebounds are a RAC record - men or women - and surpassed the previous record of 21 held by Women's Basketball Hall of Famer and former WNBA All-Star Sue Wicks set back in 1987 against Penn State.
Laney was two rebounds shy of tying the RU women's basketball single game record of 26 set in 1977. Her 24 rebounds are also tied for the third best single performance in the nation this season.
Additionally, she played all 50 minutes of the double overtime contest.
At #25 Arkansas, Laney added in another double with 12 points and 11 boards in a 64-52 victory. She shot 50 percent from the floor and added in three assists, two steals and a block against the Razorbacks.
This is Laney's third weekly award from the Big Ten, after earning honor roll status the previous two weeks.
On the season, Laney is averaging 16.0 points and 14.8 rebounds per game. She has collected eight straight double-doubles to open the season and leads the nation in the category. She is currently 14th on RU's all-time rebounding leaders with 688 career boards and is 33rd all-time in scoring with 1,024 career points.
The senior Scarlet Knight was also honored on Monday by College Sports Madness, being named their Big Ten Women's Basketball Player of the Week. On Tuesday, she was named Player of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Association, which encompasses players from 73 Met area schools across Divisions I, II and III.
The Rutgers women's basketball team, who moved up one spot in the Associated Press Poll to No. 17, will travel to Temple on Wednesday, Dec. 10 for a 6 p.m. tip and host No. 11 Tennessee on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.
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