St. John's University Athletics
Aliyyah Handford Named BIG EAST Player Of The Week
12/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2014
BIG EAST Release
QUEENS, N.Y. - After averaging 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds during an impressive two-game appearance at the 2014 Chartwells Holiday Classic hosted by the Red Storm, junior guard Aliyyah Handford has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday afternoon. Handford earns the award for the first time this season after being named to the conference's weekly honor roll on three occasions already.
A native of Newark, N.J., Handford also averaged 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 46.9 percent from the field in the Chartwells Holiday Classic, earning her a spot on the all-tournament team.
In Saturday's tournament opener against Auburn, Handford scored a game-high 22 points and shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line as No. 25 St. John's scored a 56-49 victory. A little more than 24 hours later, the junior returned to the court and led all scorers with 27 points in the tournament championship game, won by Indiana State in double overtime, 73-67. Handford also recorded nine rebounds, four assists and two steals against the Sycamores, and sent the game into a first overtime period with a late field goal.
Handford has now been named BIG EAST Player of the Week three times in her career after earning the honor twice as a sophomore.
St. John's, 10-1 overall and 1-0 in BIG EAST play so far this season, returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 30, with a road game at Providence.
