Women's Basketball | 12/26/2017 12:30:00 PM

FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason graduate student Natalie Butler continues to garner attention from the Atlantic 10 Conference office before even playing a league game.  

The 6-foot-5 center was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week for a phenomenal fifth time this season. The honor comes after Butler scored a career-high 35 points and hauled in 20 rebounds in an 82-73 loss at Houston on Thursday.

The Fairfax Station, Va., native has either shared (twice) or won the award solo (three times) in the first seven weeks of the season.

Against Houston, she became just the 17th Mason player to score more than 30 points in a game and her 35 were the most by a Patriot since Taylor Brown scored 35 on Dec. 22, 2014. Butler, a graduate transfer from the University of Connecticut, also posted her 12th straight double-double, which leads the country.

She is just the second player in the country this season to have 35 points and 20 rebounds in the same game. Her 20 rebounds are her most at Mason – she had 21 as a freshman at Georgetown in 2013-14 – and the most by a Patriot in four years. That was also the last time a Mason player had 20-plus points and 20-plus rebounds in the same game (Janaa Pickard, 21 points, 21 rebounds, Nov. 14, 2013).

By halftime, she had incredible 26 points and 12 rebounds. She shot 13 of 16 from the field and was 9 of 16 at the free-throw line. It was her sixth 20-point plus game of the season and she also grabbed 19 rebounds for the second time this season, just one shy of a career high.

The 6-foot-5 center from Fairfax Station, Va., leads the country with 14.2 rebounds a game and 183 total rebounds. Her 19.2 points are also the most in the Atlantic 10.  

The Patriots (10-3) close out non-conference play against Longwood at 7 p.m. on Thursday at EagleBank Arena. They then begin Atlantic 10 play by hosting Davidson at 2 p.m. on Sunday in a New Year's Eve matchup.