Nielson named WCC Player of the Week

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — The West Coast Conference has named senior guard/forward Kristine Nielson this week’s WCC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week. The honor is the first for Nielson and she is the first Cougar player to be named this season.

The 5-foot-11 senior from Crystal Beach, Fla., and Palm Harbor University High School, had back-to-back double-figure scoring games on her way to being named the MVP of the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament. Nielson recorded a career-high 17 points in the win over Tulsa and she tallied 15 points in the win over St. Joseph’s.

Against Tulsa on Saturday, she pulled down five rebounds, dished out three assists while shooting 60 percent from the field and 67 percent from the free-throw line. The three made treys against the Golden Hurricane were career highs and were the most made 3s in the contest.

In the win over SJU, she tallied 14 points and also had five rebounds while collecting two blocks, which were career bests. Against the Hawks, she went 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from behind 3-point range and was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.

For the week, Nielson averaged 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 block. She had a total of 32 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks while shooting 57.9 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from 3-point range and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line.