USBWA awards: Dionna White Player of the Week, Nia Clouden Freshman of the Week
Dionna White is reaching another level.
The United States Basketball Writers Association released the national and freshman players of the week January 2, following the holiday hiatus. Dionna White, a senior at Georgetown, and Nia Clouden, a freshman phenom for No. 15 Michigan State, locked in the honors this week.
Whether or not there was snow in the forecast on the eve of Georgetown’s conference opener, it ended up being a ‘Whiteout’ in McDonough Arena.
White finished the game with an impressive 24 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals—all to help the Hoyas overcome a 16-point deficit and notch their first conference win against Xavier. This was White’s 12th career double-double. Her performance landed her Big East Player of the Week honors, too.
More from NCAA
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, April 6: Stanford defeats Arizona in a tightly contested matchup to win the national title
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 30: UConn and Baylor deliver a classic battle of storied programs
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 26: Louisville and Texas A&M survive and advance
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 23: Highlights from the first round of the NCAA Tournament
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, March 16: Tournament bracket released
It’s no surprise White leads Georgetown in nearly every statistical category this season: points per game (15.0), field goals made (75), rebounds per game (8.5), assists per game (2.9), steals per game (2.3) and minutes per game (34.6).
That will surely put you in the national spotlight.
Michigan State also joined Georgetown in a 1-0 start to conference play, but that didn’t come without a career night from Clouden. The rookie turned a lot of heads with her 27 points in the Spartans’ upset over No. 16 (now No. 19) Iowa. This was a highly anticipated Big Ten matchup, mostly to see Megan Gustafson and Jenna Allen go head-to-head.
Instead, the freshman stole the show and Michigan State walked away on Clouden nine. It only took her 19 shots to hit her new career high in 39 minutes. Clouden shot over 50% from the field and chipped in five assists, four rebounds a couple steals as well.
Can you say fearless?
The 11-1 Spartans currently have four players averaging double-digit points, Clouden being one at 13.3 points per game behind Allen’s 16.5. But the two stats that really jump out at you from this season are 1) she has attempted 72 free throws with the next highest on the team being 37 and 2) she’s played the most minutes out of anyone on the team.
That’s a high impact player who knows and understands her role, even in her youth.