Okonkwo, Whilby grab their first Big 12 conference honors

UNIVERSITY PARK, TX - NOVEMBER 14: TCU Horned Frogs forward Amy Okonkwo (00) drives to the basket during the women's basketball game between SMU and TCU on November 14, 2017 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, TX - NOVEMBER 14: TCU Horned Frogs forward Amy Okonkwo (00) drives to the basket during the women's basketball game between SMU and TCU on November 14, 2017 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

As week seven and the holidays come to a close, the Big 12 announced their weekly honors before heading into conference play.

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Amy Okonkwo of TCU was named player of the week after her 31-point performance in the Frog’s win over Hampton. Okonkwo made 11-14 (78.5%) field goals and 7-8 (87.5%) free throws in just 19 minutes to round out a career high night.

Okonkwo is now sixth in the Big 12 in scoring this season at 16.4 points per game. She is also among the conference’s leaders in field goal percentage at 55 percent and free throw percentage at 91 percent.

The Horned Frogs finished “part one” of their season with a 9-2 record, its best since 2003-2004. Although non-conference is very important, especially for those resume boosters, the real action gets started next. “Part two” of the season is conference play, in which the Big 12 is very competitive. Fifty percent of Big 12 teams  are receiving votes in one of the national polls. That alone should tell you, conference play will be a grind.

Texas Tech’s Lyndsey Whilby grabbed freshman of the week in her first collegiate start against Incarnate Word. She netted a season-high 21 points going 8-12 (66.7%) from the field and 5-9 (55.6%) from behind the arc. Her five three-pointers made and eight field goals made were career highs for the freshman.

Every game will be a battle in the Big 12 conference, and the action gets started Thursday.