Makurat, Walker Earn AAC Accolades

Megan Walker (3) was named to the American Athletic Conference's
weekly honor roll. She was joined by Husky teammate Anna Makurat
who was named the conference's Freshman of the Week for the second
straight week. 

By Bob Phillips

PROVIDENCE—Heading into their final go-round in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) women’s basketball tournament, two UConn Huskies picked up honors for the week ending March 1. Anna Makurat was named AAC Freshman of the Week and Megan Walker was named to the conference’s weekly honor roll.

This was Makurat’s second straight Freshman of the Week award. The 6-1  Polish sharpshooter averaged 14.7 points and 3.7 assists per game performance during a 3-0 week for top-seeded UConn that clinched another undefeated league campaign for the Huskies.

Makurat shot 48.5 percent overall in triumphs at Cincinnati, at Houston and at home against USF, including an even 50.0 percent from beyond the arc. She hit 7-of-11 shots (4-of-5 from three-point range) to finish with 20 points and six assists in a blowout of Cincinnati. She followed up that performance with a 16-point, three-assist showing in only 28 minutes at Houston and scored eight points to go along with three assists and a pair of steals to cap the regular season against USF.

Walker averaged 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 60 percent from the field in wins over Cincinnati, Houston and USF. The 6-1 junior forward from Chesterfield, Va.,  poured in 25 points on 66.7 percent shooting at Cincinnati, scored 21 points with  nine rebounds and four steals at Houston, and capped her week with a 23-point, seven-rebound, five-assist performance vs. USF.

Other AAC Weekly Honor Roll winners were:

Player of the Week

Kay Kay Wright * Sr. * G * UCF

Wright enjoyed a huge week for American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship No. 2 seed UCF, averaging 26.7 points per game and 4.7 assists per contest in victories over Temple, Memphis and Wichita State. Wright shot 55.4 percent from the field over the three-game stretch, which included a 58.8 percent clip (10-of-17) from 3-point range. She played all 40 minutes in a home victory against Temple (Feb. 26), scoring 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting while pulling down three rebounds and adding two assists. Wright tallied 19 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals in a road win at Memphis (Feb. 29) before saving her best scoring performance for the final game of the regular season. The senior guard notched a career-high 37 points after hitting 13-of-21 shots from the floor (61.9 percent), which included a 5-for-8 showing from beyond the arc, and six assists in a Monday win over Wichita State (March 2) to lock up the conference tournament’s second seed. Following the completion of the regular season, Wright ranked fourth in The American with 17.8 points per game and sixth with 4.0 assists per game.

Weekly Honor Roll

Krystal Freeman * Jr. * F * Tulane

Tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds in each game of a 1-1 Tulane week against East Carolina (Feb. 29) and Temple (March 2); hit 62.4 percent of shots from the field in the matchup with ECU and connected on an even 50 percent from the floor against Temple, including a late jumper to seal the game against the Owls

Antoinette Miller * Sr. * G * Cincinnati

Averaged 18.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in a 2-1 week for Cincinnati to lock up the third seed in The American tournament; scored 17 points against UConn (Feb. 26), 15 points versus Wichita State (Feb. 29) and 22 points on Senior Night against East Carolina (March 2)

Madison Griggs * Fr. * G * Memphis

Accounted for 18.0 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game and established an American single-season record for made 3-pointers by a freshman during Memphis’ week against UCF (Feb. 29) and SMU (March 2); scored 15 points and chipped in three assists against UCF and scored 21 points to go along with eight rebounds at SMU

Elena Tsineke * Fr. * G * USF

Logged a 16.0 points per game and 3.0 rebounds per game average in a 2-1 week for USF; scored 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting (4-for-7 from beyond the arc) against East Carolina (Feb. 25) and added 21 points and three boards against SMU (Feb. 29) to highlight the week

The UConn Huskies, who have never lost a game in regular season or postseason championship tournament play throughout their tenure in the AAC, open their final American run on Saturday. The Huskies (26-3 overall, 16-0 AAC) will take on the winner of the ECU-Temple game in a quarter-final matchup at the Mohegan Sun Arena at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN3. Assuming they advance to the semi-finals and finals, both will be played at the Mohegan Sun Arena (on Sunday and Monday respectively), and will be televised on ESPN2. Saturday’s and Monday’s games can also be heard on ESPN Radio 97.9 FM, while Sunday’s game will be broadcast on The River 105.9 FM.

—with staff reports