Harris, Pates Lead USF To Sweep of Women's Basketball Weekly Accolades

CHICAGO --- NAIA No. 16-ranked University of St. Francis gained a sweep of the latest Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week awards courtesy of the efforts of Le'lani Harris (Oak Lawn, Ill.) and Mariah Pates (Champlin, Minn.) during the seven-day period ending Dec. 21, the league office announced on Tuesday morning.

Harris collected her second CCAC Offensive Player of the Week recognition after averaging 23.5 points per game over a pair of contests.  A hot shooting hand led to those numbers with the senior guard converting at a .586 mark overall (17-of-29) and .600 from three-point range (9-of-15).  She was also 4-for-5 at the line.

Harris' other averages included her 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per contest.

The top performance for the week and for Harris' career came last Wednesday when she delivered a personal-best 34 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block in a 91-65 victory over Clarke University (Iowa).  She also shot 60 percent from the field that night (12-of-20) with six treys in just nine attempts.

Harris followed that showing up with another 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and one block in just 19 minutes of a 97-44 decision over Madonna University (Mich.) on Saturday.

Pates earned her first CCAC Defensive Player of the Week award after helping limit the Saints' two opponents to just 54.5 points per game last week.  She did so by authoring eight blocks and grabbing eight defensive rebounds (11 total) in the two contests.

The sophomore center produced near-identical numbers in both wins with four defensive boards and four blocked shots in each outing.  She also recorded two assist and one steal in the Clarke victory.

St. Francis remains unbeaten at 14-0 overall with half of those wins coming in the conference.   

Other Offensive Nominees: Allie Caldwell (Holy Cross), Veronica Bafia (Saint Xavier), Madison Carlson (Judson), Mikkalla Robertson (Mount Mary), De'Mour Watson (Indiana Northwest), Abby Wolter (St. Ambrose).

Other Defensive Nominees: Kaiden Hanley (Holy Cross), Alaina Peetz (Saint Xavier), Mikkalla Robertson (Mount Mary), Caitlyn Thole (St. Ambrose), De'Mour Watson (Indiana Northwest).