WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the second time this season, two Patriots swept the Atlantic 10 weekly awards with
Ta'Viyanna Habib getting her first career nod as Player of the Week and
Zahirah Walton picking up her sixth Rookie of the Week honor.
The honors mark the 11
th and 12
th Atlantic 10 weekly honors for the Patriots, as Walton and
Kennedy Harris have already combined for nine Rookie of the Week honors and
Sonia Smith was honored as player of the Week on Jan. 8. Walton's nod marks the sixth of the season for the sophomore, matching the program high set by Nicole Cardaño-Hillary during the 2017-2018 season.
In an important 2-0 week for Mason,
Zahirah Walton averaged a double-double for the Patriots. In the road win against St. Bonaventure, Walton tallied a career-high five blocks to go along with four points, six rebounds, a steal and an assist. In the Patriots' thrilling overtime win over Atlantic 10 number one Richmond, Walton exploded on both ends of the court with 18 points, a team-high 14 rebounds including eight offensive, two blocks, two steals and an assist.
For the week, Walton averaged 11.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 1.5 steals while shooting .304 from the field (7-23) and .889 from the free throw line (8-9).
Ta'Viyanna Habib tallied two double-figure scoring performances for the Patriots last week en route to the first Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honor. In a road victory at St. Bonaventure, Habib led the team on both ends of the court with a game-high 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Her eight field goal makes against the Bonnies were a career-high for the junior. In Mason's overtime win over the Atlantic 10's top team Richmond, she scored 13 points with five rebounds, three steals and a block. Habib went 3-4 from three-point range, including two important makes in overtime.
Overall, Habib averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting .481 (13-27) from the field and .500 (4-8) from three-point range.
Walton, Habib and the Patriots return to the court on Wednesday night to welcome the Dayton Flyers to EagleBank for their final home game of the season.
