Marosites sweeps weekly honors adding TSWA nod

Marosites sweeps weekly honors adding TSWA nod

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the second time this season, junior guard Kayla Marosites was named the Tennessee Sportswriters Association Player of the Week announced by the organization Wednesday.

It is the third time that the group has named a Carson-Newman player as its weekly winner as the all-conference pick earned the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week nod on Tuesday.

The Elizabethton, Tenn. led Carson-Newman to wins over Tusculum and Newberry as she posted 16.5 points per game, 12.5 rebounds and three total steals making 44 percent of her shots from the floor and long range.

In a 75-70 road win at Tusculum on Wednesday, the junior finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds for her third consecutive double-double against the Pioneers. Three days later in a 71-55 win over 25th-ranked Newberry, she had 11 points and snatched 11 caroms.

"I've just been crashing the boards, boxing out and taking every moment that I can," Marosites said. "It says a lot that we can stick together. When Haris went down, me and [Briana Smith] stepped up because we don't have our All-American point guard. I thought Bri did a great job of running the point."

Marosites is fourth in the country with 12 double-doubles on the season as she has posted one in eight of her last nine games. Only two players in Division II have more total boards this year than her 211 while she is 10th with 11.7 per game and sixth in offensive rebounds per game with five.

Leading the team in rebounding in 13 straight games, the guard has 14 double-digit rebounds efforts on the year. The school's Division II record for double-doubles in a season is 19 set by Shari Buford in 2009-10.

In other stat areas, Marosites is ninth in the league in scoring average at 14.7, 10th in steals per game at 1.83 while producing the fifth-best free-throw percentage at 85 percent, good for 40th in the NCAA.

"We need to keep practicing hard," Marosites said. "If we stay together, get in the gym and work on the things we need to work on, we will be fine."

With her efforts, the Lady Eagles jumped back into the top 25 of the D2SIDA poll announced Tuesday afternoon checking in at No. 25. It is the first time in six polls that the club is back in the rankings while marking the 50th week in school history that C-N is ranked.

Coach Mike Mincey's group is back inside of the friendly confines Saturday afternoon as Wingate comes to town for a 2 p.m. opening tip that will be aired on the Eagle Sports Network.

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