Westfield's McCarthy Named USBWA National Player of the Week

Westfield's McCarthy Named USBWA National Player of the Week
January 22, 2019

Release courtesy of the Westfield State Sports Information Department.

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior forward Kierra McCarthy (Ludlow, Mass.) has been selected as the US Basketball Writers Division III National Player of the Week.
 
McCarthy picked up the national honor among a number of awards, as she was also named the MASCAC player of the week as sponsored by GEICO, and was chosen for the New England Women’s Basketball Association’s weekly honor roll.
 
McCarthy’s big week included scoring her 1,000th career point in an 80-78 road win over league foe Framingham State, a game in which she helped rally the Owls from an 11-point deficit, scoring the game winning bucket on a drive with two seconds left in regulation.
 
She finished with 26 points in the game.
 
On Saturday, with the Owls missing senior guard Lucy Barrett, the team and league’s leading scorer, Westfield State got out of the blocks slowly, trailing Salem State 17-0 five minutes into the game.   McCarthy reeled off another huge game, scoring 28 points and grabbing seven steals and seven rebounds as the Owls came roaring back to win 93-69, their 25th straight league win at home.
 
McCarthy averaged 27 points, six rebounds and 3.5 steals per game, and shot 58 percent from the floor and 66 percent from three point range in an incredibly efficient week.
 
She now has 1,040 career points which places her 15th on the Owls all-time scoring list, just four points behind Kathy Jekanowski ’96.
 
McCarthy is the second Westfield State player to recently win the prestigious national honor.  WSU alumna Jill Valley ’17 received the national award after a 52-point game in 2017.
 
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
 
McCarthy and the Owls (10-7, 4-0 MASCAC) are back in action tonight, hosting Fitchburg State at 7:30 p.m. at the Woodward Center.