General | 12/31/2019 10:37:27 AM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on Dec. 31, 2019 for games played from Dec. 16-Dec. 30. It is the 17th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2019-20 season.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brett Talbert, Utica, Fr., G, Deer Park, NY/Knox School
Talbert was outstanding for the Pioneers in the team's two wins at the Utica College Classic. The rookie guard was named Utica College Classic Most Valuable Player for his output in a 102-72 win over Anna Maria on Dec. 29, and 92-65 victory over SUNY Delhi the following day. Talbert had 21 points in each contest, along with seven steals, six assists, and ten rebounds over the course of the weekend. In Sunday's win over Anna Maria, Talbert recorded new season-high marks for the team in field goals made and attempted. He is the only Pioneer to convert 10 field goals in a game this season. He was a flawless 8-for-8 at the foul line against Delhi.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – David Kruis, Elmira, Fr., G, Midland Park, NJ/Midland Park
Kruis played the best two games of his young career at Wittenberg's 2019 Kiwanis Holiday Classic on Dec. 29-30, averaging 8.5 points per game off of the bench. He scored seven points, then a single-game high, in just eight minutes against No. 3-ranked Wittenberg. The following afternoon, he set another single-game season-high with his first career double-digit performance, netting 10 points in a 60-55 win over Spalding. He hit a pair of 3-pointers and went 2-for-2 from the foul line in the win, EC's first of the season.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Rachel Benedict, Nazareth, Sr., F, Brockport, NY/Brockport
Benedict averaged 20.3 points and 11.3 rebounds over three games for the Golden Flyers. She scored a career-high 29 points with eight rebounds in an 83-82 overtime loss to Middlebury on Dec. 17. Benedict pulled down 11 rebounds in a 58-51 loss to Carthage in Nashville on Dec. 29, then rebounded with 25 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in an 86-65 romp over Bridgewater State on Dec. 30. She went 23-for-48 (.478) from the field, including 8-for-19 (.421) from three-point range and was 7-for-8 from the foul line. Benedict, who is averaging 18.5 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in 2019-20, also moved into sixth place on Nazareth's all-time career scoring list with 1,348.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Anna Milham, St. John Fisher, Fr., G, Mechanicsville, NY/Shenendehowa
Milham had a career day on Monday, Dec. 30, as the first-year guard helped lead the Cardinals to a convincing win over Medaille, 92-49, in the team's only contest of the week. Milham scored a career-high nine points and added three rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals in the win, while shooting 4-of-6 from the field over 16 minutes.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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