Williams gains second conference Rookie of the Week honor
DALLAS -- University of Texas 6-1 freshman forward Earnesia Williams earned Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors Monday for the second time this year, following standout games in wins over No. 9/8 Oklahoma and Kansas State last week. This was the second weekly honor for Williams, who also was tabbed Rookie of the Week on January 2. Williams was joined by Nebraska 6-2 sophomore forward Kelsey Griffin and 6-4 sophomore post Courtney Paris (Oklahoma), who were named co-Big 12 Women's Basketball Players of the Week for games from Jan. 29-Feb. 4. The Big 12 voting is conducted by a media voting panel each week. Texas stands 16-7 overall and is 5-4 in the Big 12. The Longhorns are 9-4 in their last 13 games and will next play three games in a span of seven days. Williams (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa HS) provided a big lift to the Longhorns in last Wednesday's 67-62 the upset victory over OU and in Saturday¹s 61-34 victory at Kansas State. Williams netted 13 points and five rebounds against the Sooners. On the week, Williams had 18 points and 10 rebounds. In the KSU game, Williams had five points and five rebounds while her defense helped hold the Wildcats' forwards to 14 points. Williams was instrumental in helping Texas to its upset 67-62 win over No. 9/8 Oklahoma. The 6-1 redshirt freshman netted 13 points and five rebounds against the Sooners, as she and Tiffany Jackson kept the Sooners at bay all game long with their scoring and defense. In the OU game, Williams helped UT to its 36-20 lead at half, as UT finished off the half a 13-3 run which was led by five points each from Williams and Jackson. In the second half, with OU closing the gap to five (65-60) with 40 seconds to go, Williams blocked a Sooner layup attempt and her teammate Brittainey Raven was fouled on the rebound attempt. Raven made one of two free throws to ice the game. Williams is second in UT scoring overall (9.0) and averages 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per Big 12 game. The honor for Williams marks the fifth weekly award for the Texas women's basketball team this year. In addition to Williams' honor on Jan. 2, senior forward Tiffany Jackson has been recognized twice as Big 12 Player of the Week (on Dec. 18 and Jan. 8) and redshirt freshman point guard Carla Cortijo was singled out for rookie honors on Jan. 15. Griffin logged a double-double (23 points, 13 rebounds) in No. 22 Nebraska's 76-67 win over No. 13 Baylor after scoring 15 points against Iowa State on Wednesday. Paris had 41 points and 19 rebounds in a win over Oklahoma State and had 25 points and 18 boards in the loss to Texas. UT returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 7, facing Oklahoma State (15-7, 3-6 in Big 12) in Stillwater, Okla. on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in a 6 p.m. (CT) game. Texas then returns home for a 5 p.m. Big 12 contest against Kansas on Saturday, Feb. 10 (a FSN Southwest TV broadcast) before hitting the road for the fourth time in a five-game stretch, playing at Oklahoma in a "Big Monday" showdown (Feb. 12) which will air at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. All Texas games are broadcast live on KVET Radio 1300 AM in Central Texas and via the internet at Yahoo!Sports at TexasSports.com.
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